Delaware just got $4.9M in federal funds to support AI highways

DelDOT was recently granted nearly $5 million in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to build artificial intelligence infrastructure —  including tech that interacts with autonomous vehicles on the roads, smart signals and better data collection tech.

“These highly innovative projects offer high-tech solutions to relieve congestion and improve safety and efficiency on the nation’s highways,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao in a press release.

The Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Deployment (ATCMTD) grant funds early deployments of technologies as models for improving commuters and businesses travel nationwide. DelDOT was one of 10 recipients of $53 million, including the University of Alabama and Departments of Transportation in Oregon, Texas and Pennsylvania, for projects ranging from traveler information systems to mobility networks.

“This is exciting,” said Ken Grant, public and government affairs manager for AAA Mid-Atlantic, in a comment to Technical.ly. “DelDOT has a national reputation for innovation and this grant allows the Department to continue moving Delaware further along in innovation that provides safer and better transportation options to all of us.”

AI has been shown to improve highway safety in Nevada, where a pilot program by smart mobility startup Waycare reduced accidents on a strip of Las Vegas roadways by 17%.