Interstate 66 in Virginia is also being designed for autonomous driving.
In Virginia A section of Interstate 66 will reopen by the end of the month. The section then contains three regular lanes and two managed lanes. This means lanes on which new traffic concepts are planned.
It is the first road that also uses vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) systems to support self-driving vehicles. The concept was developed by the Cintra subsidiary Ferrovial and helps the autonomous vehicles with navigation. The project is part of the I-66 Express Mobility Partners Company joint venture, which also includes Meridiam, John Laing Plc and APG. Sensor technology in the infrastructure and V2E (Vehicle-to-Everything) networking should enable the operation of the vehicles.
The stretch of highway is 25 miles in length and is used by up to 4,000 people per hour. The managed lanes offer a fast and reliable ride, according to the consortium. The toll adjusts based on demand to maintain a reliable cruising speed within managed lanes.
Ferrovial is also cooperating with the project intel, Microsoft, Capgemini, Telefonica and 3Mto develop the V2I solution. Networking is necessary to ensure autonomous driving. However, it remains to be seen when the investments will pay off, since autonomous driving is still a long way off. Previous investments in networking had to be written off because the FCC the frequency for DSRC had reassigned.