BRIDGE

Learn More
Ananth Prasad, HNTB National
Transportation Practice Leader,
explains the technology behind
self-driving vehicles and how it can
change the future of transportation.
www.youtube.com/
watch?v=1jYJt9yB0D4
Video available for iPhone
and iPad on the HNTB
Publications App.
A Safer State
Florida’s Automated Vehicle initiative creates a vision
for a fatality- and congestion-free transportation system
While many states have their eyes on how autonomous vehicle and
connected vehicle technologies can improve transportation in their
states, the Florida Department of Transportation has been at the
forefront of making these ideas a reality for the Sunshine State.
Florida’s Automated Vehicle initiative is a groundbreaking
effort to plan and deploy autonomous vehicle/connected vehicle
technologies on public roadways, and eventually could eliminate
90 percent of all crashes in the state.
“Automated vehicle technologies hold unprecedented
opportunities to improve safety and reduce congestion,” said
Richard Biter, FDOT’s former assistant secretary of intermodal
systems development. “If the use of autonomous and connected
vehicles can help us reduce 90 percent of crashes, then someday
we will have to revisit our department’s vision statement, because
we will have obtained that goal.”
Under Florida’s Automated Vehicle program, FDOT is creating
the framework for AV/CV implementation by engaging stakeholders,
developing research and pilot projects and creating awareness of
the technologies and how they support FDOT’s vision statement.
As general engineering consultant for Florida’s
Automated Vehicle initiative, HNTB provides:
• Professional services contractual support
• Road infrastructure planning
• Automated transit and shared mobility solutions
• Truck automation opportunities
• Transportation planning and modeling implications
of driverless cars
• Policy perspective and analyses
• Near-term connected/automated technology
deployment opportunities
• Development of publications and other program
documents and deliverables
• Education and outreach coordination
Lawmakers are contributing, too. New legislation makes it easy
for carmakers to test AV/CV technologies in Florida — potentially
attracting a chunk of the estimated $20 billion automakers and
other companies will spend globally on development over the next
five years, according to The New York Times.
FDOT is a leader in the AV/CV movement. The DOT already has
hosted three statewide automated vehicle summits and will launch
the nation’s first Automated Vehicle Academy this year.
The DOT’s contract with HNTB as general engineering consultant
for the FAV initiative is a first, too.
“HNTB is the dynamic partner helping FDOT develop one of
the first state AV/CV strategic plans in the country,” Biter said.
“They are now working with us to implement that plan through
our program goals and to keep us on the leading edge of these
emerging mobility solutions.”
HNTB brought key leaders of the department together with
experts from across the country to help outline the strategic plan,
which Biter says will help the department determine how rapidly
developing technologies will fit into FDOT’s design work program.
It’s more than an issue of design, though. Asset management
and maintenance also benefit from the implementation of AV/CV.
Similarly, public outreach and education also are important
components of FAV. According to Biter, a GEC with strong public
information skills was a must for the program.
“We can use terminology like ‘gigahertz’ that makes the average
person’s eyes glaze over,” he said. “But our job is to make the
concept of autonomous and connected vehicles tangible, something
the public can grasp and appreciate.”
Florida’s Automated Vehicle initiative is one of the most important
the state has ever undertaken, because, as Biter said, AV/CV isn’t
something a DOT can opt out of.
“It’s going to happen whether we do anything or not,” he said.
“Florida is the third most-populous state in the country. We have
more than 100 million tourists a year and just about every one of
them rents a car. This technology is important to us and our goal
to provide the No. 1 infrastructure in the country.” n
CONTACT:
BEN WALKER, HNTB Project Manager
(813) 415-8805 n bgwalker@hntb.com
Page 22 HNTB DESIGNER Number 105