Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 25, 1990 TAG: 9004250675
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A/1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DANIEL HOWES HIGHER EDUCATION WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
And the political and business leaders eager to spur economic development in Western Virginia may get the road they want - linking Roanoke with the state's largest university - in the process.
Using a connector road to test intelligent-vehicle and highway systems in a rural area is a necessary and sound concept, experts said at a national conference here Tuesday. The key is finding the money at a time when governments and corporations are tightening their belts while traffic problems are becoming more intractable.
The "smart road" being designed by Tech's Center For Transportation Research would be equipped with fiber optic sensors linked to a mainframe computer, officials said. Navigational computers would warn drivers when they are too close to the vehicle in front, or are veering off the road or perhaps approaching a hazard. They also would tell drivers when it is safe to pass.
"You now have a good prospect, but you're going to have to portray it as something unusual," said Lester Lamm, president of the Highway Users Federation. That the project would be developed in the rolling hills of Montgomery County and be run by Tech helps.
Tech organized the conference at the Donaldson Brown Continuing Education Center to discuss new transportation technologies, including "smart cars" equipped with a computer monitors displaying traffic maps and smart highways with sensors monitoring traffic.
Ray Pethtel, commissioner of the state Department of Transportation, said the plan for a Roanoke-Blacksburg link with "smart road" technology "is as good a prospect as I've seen anywhere in the United States."
Last month, Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon, asked Congress to earmark $95 million in the 1991 federal highway bill for a six-mile link - or "demonstration project" in government jargon - between Blacksburg and Interstate 81 near Ironto.
Officials estimate the four-lane road would cost some $117 million, but they thus far have been unable to put a price tag on the "smart road" technology - including a fifth lane that would be built for testing.
"The federal government will make an investment in this project," Boucher said Tuesday during a news conference in Blacksburg. He said he thinks this is the first time anyone has asked Congress for money to build a smart road.
The 9th district congressman also predicted that state lawmakers will fund the project, perhaps as part of a billion-dollar bond issue, regardless of the federal contribution.
Research on intelligent-vehicle and highway systems thus far has been confined to urban areas - General Motors Corp.'s Pathfinder project in Los Angeles and a second scheduled to begin soon in Orlando, Fla.
Missing is "smart car" research in rural areas, which may prove to be Tech's niche in the burgeoning field.
"We're trying to jump on it soon enough to be among the big players," said Antoine Hobeika, director of Tech's 2-year-old transportation research center. "It's not a dream. We do have the resources to contribute" to the effort. Experts agree.
Tech officials are keen to capitalize on whatever particular advantages the university's location and expertise can provide.
Research into the rural applications of "smart car" technology likely would focus on Southwest Virginia: coping with increasing truck traffic on Interstate 81, for example, and developing sensors that could warn drivers of unseen obstacles on winding country roads.
"Obviously we see that as a niche we could fill, but at the same time we don't want to divorce ourselves from the urban issues," said Wayne Clough, Tech's new engineering dean. "We want that to be part of our game plan."
There also would be the benefits - a tangible public service - that would accrue to Northern Virginia and Tidewater residents who are becoming increasingly exasperated with traffic congestion around Washington and Norfolk.
Supporters of the direct link, seeing "smart roads" as a likely ticket to state and federal road-building money, hailed the technologies showcased by representatives of GM, Ford Motor Co. and Motorola Inc.
"It's a doable project, . . . the technology is here," said Gordon Willis Sr., who heads a coalition of Roanoke and Blacksburg leaders devoted to lobbying for the direct link.
by CNB