Plans to construct a corridor for autonomous vehicles have been released by the Michigan Department of Transportation who has joined hands with Aecom for the project that will span from Detroit to Ann Arbor. Cavnue, a subsidiary of Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners, which is sponsored by Alphabet, Google’s parent firm, launched a 24-month research last August into the possibility of renovating 40 miles of Interstate 94 and Michigan Avenue. Ford Motor Company, the University of Michigan, the American Center for Mobility, and WSP USA Inc. are among the project partners.
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Engineering planning and design services for the Autonomous vehicle corridor
Engineering planning and design services will be provided by Aecom. According to MDOT, the lanes would be “purpose-built to expedite and improve the full potential of CAVs and transport people.” It argues that CAVs can reduce road accidents due by human mistake while also reducing traffic congestion.
The “anchor-use” of such a corridor, according to its contract with Cavnue, would be to provide a public transit alternative – “an autonomous shuttle service that can offer greater safety, throughput, and system-level efficiency than otherwise possible when compared with conventional vehicle or transit services, such as bus rapid transit or light rail transit.” “This collaboration will progress transportation in Michigan in a way that is sustainable, smarter, and safer for future generations,” said Jennifer Aument, Aecom’s global transportation chief executive.
“Smart vehicles require smart roads,” said Tyler Duvall, Cavnue’s co-founder and CEO. “Cavnue’s objective is to simplify and improve the driving experience in order to fully realize the potential of all autonomous cars.” In order to set unbiased criteria for the development of the technologies, the business has gathered an advisory group of automotive and autonomous mobility companies, including Ford, GM, Argo AI, Arrival, BMW, Honda, Toyota, TuSimple, and Waymo.
