The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada (RTC), the Nevada DOT (NDOT), and partners received a $6 million grant to expand emerging technologies on Las Vegas freeways.
The 5-mile expansion will extend west of downtown Las Vegas between I-15 and Summerlin Parkway on U.S. 95, a critical corridor that carries approximately 230,000 vehicles daily. These technologies will help enhance safety by mitigating congestion, decreasing the number of crashes, reducing travel time, and increasing overall efficiency of the freeway.
The $6 million in funding comes from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Deployment (ATCMTD) program. The ATCMTD program funds early deployments of forward-looking technologies that can serve as national models.
Some technologies that will be deployed along U.S. 95 include wrong-way sensors that alert drivers immediately if they are traveling in the wrong direction; occupancy detection sensors in HOV lanes that collect data to reduce congestion and emissions; and overhead signs that warn motorists about incidents, speed reduction, and lane closures ahead to mitigate crashes resulting from sudden braking.
“This grant will enable us to work closely with our long-standing partners to expand our footprint in informing motorists, emergency responders and traffic technicians about incidents in real time," M.J. Maynard, RTC chief executive officer, said in a statement. "We are grateful to our federal delegation and community partners for their continued support of these efforts, as we all work together to reduce the number and severity of crashes on our valley’s roadways.”
The project is a partnership among the RTC, NDOT, Nevada Highway Patrol, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and technology company Waycare.
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SOURCE: Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
