“Officials: What we know about the self-driving vehicle testing program coming to the Triangle Expressway”
(Triangle Business Journal, January 23, 2017)
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced Friday it has selected the N.C. Turnpike Authority as one of 10 test locations for autonomous vehicle technology. And N.C. Department of Transportation officials are excited about what the project could mean for the North Carolina’s transportation future.
The first phase cited in NCDOT’s proposal is scheduling a construction contract award in 2018. Over the past several weeks, that project timeline has changed, however, pushing the next extension to 2020.
It’s a discrepancy that’s not lost on Joe Milazzo, executive director of the Regional Transportation Alliance. In addition to partnering with NCDOT on the proposal, Milazzo’s group is campaigning for the acceleration of that 540 project timeline. He calls construction of the southern extension of that highway “priority one” for his group.
The pilot program is another point to bolster the argument. “We are hopeful that that project will be accelerated,” he says.
Regardless of the Complete 540 timeline, autonomous technology has the potential to reduce traffic congestion, Milazzo says.
“Clearly, with autonomous vehicles, there’s so much we don’t know, but the beauty of this application and the beauty of the Turnpike being selected is – we’re going to be at the front of that,” he says.