Imagine this, you’re driving on a less traveled mountain pass and your engine fails. This could cause a serious accident and before you know it you’re injured, and help is nowhere in sight. While this could become a scary reality for many, a technology start-up based in Kansas City, Missouri has teamed up with the Colorado Department of Transportation to create a proactive solution to get ahead of when events like the one described above occur.
Data-Driven Asphalt
Recently, Tim Sylvester, the president of Kansas, City Mo.-based start-up company; Integrated Roadways created a new innovation for the roadways of tomorrow. His creation “smart pavement” uses both wireless technology and sensors, allowing the potential for emergency services to be notified as soon as a vehicle abruptly exits the road. Tim Sylvester states “smart pavement is a factory-produced pavement system that transforms the road into a sensor, data and connectivity network for next-generation vehicles”.
The unique pavement system claims to use technology, which “connects vehicles to the internet and provides real-time information to drivers about traffic, road conditions, and accidents”. Additionally, the technology has the ability to “feel the positions, weights and velocity of every vehicle on the road” and “the road itself will actually connect cities and communities with seamless, high-speed data transfer”. Now, you might be thinking this technology is something out of a science fiction movie, but it may be closer than you think.
Smart Pavement Comes Alive
Recently, Integrated Roadways signed a 5 year- 2.75 million dollar contract with the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to work on the project RoadX. With CDOT on board, this project will come to life likely this winter, according to Peter Kozinki, of the Colorado Department of transportation, and director of the RoadX program. Much anticipation surrounds the RoadX project as the first half mile of Smart Pavement will make its way to U.S. highway 285 on Red Hill Pass.
New Roads That Won’t Break The Bank
You may be wondering how much this structure may cost when it comes to installing it on a wide-scale, but you may be surprised just how affordable this is. According to Integrated Solutions Inc., it’s “95% less costly to install than traditional highway construction”, and “up to 80% less cost of ownership”.
Another surprising part of the plan includes potentially funding these roads with absolutely no taxes or tolls. Sylvester said Integrated Roadways hopes its road technology will generate business down the line. This will range from trucking companies, who are trying to minimize inefficiencies in fleet mobility, property developers seeking high-resolution traffic data, and insurance companies assisting in pinpointing accidents. So, not only will the roadways of the future lack additional taxes, but they may actually generate income.
While all of this technology may have many years before any widespread adoption takes place, it remains as a display for the potential roadways of tomorrow. We cross our fingers in hope that both Integrated Solutions and CDOT will make further strides towards the roadways of tomorrow. As for now, we shall wait to see what the future holds for this innovative and economical smart pavement.