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Instead of buying only asphalt and steel, several states will spend federal stimulus dollars on “smart road” projects that use information technology to reduce congestion, ac-cording to a survey by the National Conference of State Legislatures.
“Although traditional road and bridge construction pro-jects are key elements of improving the nation’s highways,” states can go beyond new construction with “alternatives that enhance capacity and performance of existing infrastruc-ture,” the NCSL report said.
Colorado, for instance, plans to spend some of its stimu-lus dollars on high-tech weather alert systems along Inter-state 70 where snow and ice can imperil winter truck traffic through the Rocky Mountains.
Ohio will spend $15 million in the Cleveland and Akron areas to buy such equipment as traffic cameras, electronic message boards and weather advisory radios.
Such investments are known as ITS or intelligent trans-portation systems.
The NCSL report makes the case that ITS spending on such items as high-occupancy vehicle lanes and electronic tolling improves transportation flow, mitigates congestion and reduces fuel consumption and emissions.
The biggest “smart road” project to date using stimulus dollars may be in Pennsylvania, according to Stateline.org, a news service operated by the Pew Charitable Trusts.
In Pennsylvania, $74 million in stimulus funds is ear-marked for ITS purchases along 72 miles of highway in the Philadelphia area.
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