FHWA 51-16 - Pittsburgh Thursday, October 13, 2016 Contact: Nancy Singer Tel.: 202-366-0660

Funds to support city’s “Smart Spine” corridors

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation's (USDOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) today announced a $10.8 million grant for Pittsburgh to implement a variety of intelligent systems technologies in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

“Technology is helping communities connect to key highways that link to commercial and employment centers,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “Residents in the Pittsburgh region will have more access to jobs and opportunity.”

The city of Pittsburgh received the $10.8 million grant under FHWA’s Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Deployment (ATCMTD) program for “Smart Spine” corridors in Pittsburgh that connect with primary commercial centers and amenities. The technologies will include expanding the network of connected, real-time adaptive signal controllers to promote more optimized transit operations. The city will complete an LED smart streetlight conversion of nearly 40,000 street lights that in addition to providing energy savings will be equipped with traffic detection and air quality sensors.

“These infrastructure technologies will improve connections between isolated neighborhoods and major centers of employment, education and healthcare,” Federal Highway Administrator Gregory Nadeau said. “It’s about improving the quality of life and supporting the city’s economy.”

The award was part of a larger announcement totaling $56.6 million to fund advanced technologies various areas in the country. The ATCMTD program funds technologies that address the concerns outlined in Beyond Traffic, the USDOT report issued last year that examines the challenges facing America's transportation infrastructure over the next three decades, such as a rapidly growing population and increasing traffic.

ATCMTD was established under the “Fixing America's Surface Transportation” Act. State departments of transportation, local governments, transit agencies, metropolitan planning organizations and other eligible entities were invited to apply under the program.

The project was a finalist under the Smart City Challenge program.

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