U.S. DOT has announced its NoFo for a second round of SMART grants, offering up $500 million to agencies who want to forge ahead with high-tech solutions around traffic lights, connected vehicles and other pilot projects that improve the efficiency and safety of the transportation system.
Eligible applicants include states, municipalities, tribal governments, transit agencies and MPOs. The funding supports pilots in the areas of
- Coordinated automation
- Connected vehicles
- Sensors
- Systems integration
- Delivery/logistics
- Innovative aviation
- Smart grid
- Traffic signals
Last year’s awardees included a project led by the West Virginia Department of Transportation to employ sensors to monitor the structural health of aging infrastructure. It also allowed Cleveland, Ohio, to begin work on the installation of traffic signals that provide right of way to emergency vehicles.
In the department’s announcement, USDOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg said: “Our SMART program helps give State, local, and Tribal governments the resources they need to find technological solutions to some of their most pressing transportation challenges.”
