The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has awarded a $6 million grant to the city of Dublin, the city of Marysville and Union County for the advancement of the Northwest U.S. 33 Smart Mobility Corridor. The USDOT grant will provide funding for Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) along the corridor for connected vehicle and autonomous vehicle testing and research.
The NW US 33 Smart Mobility Corridor is home to more than 50 automotive-related companies, including Honda manufacturing, R&D operations and The Ohio State University’s Transportation Research Center, which includes a 7.5-mile automotive test track. The expansion of fiber-optics and smart mobility apparatus along the corridor will solidify the importance of technological advancements in smart mobility for the automotive sector.
“The vision for this project is being realized thanks to an unprecedented collaboration between cities, counties, the state of Ohio, The Ohio State University, private partners and the critical funding provided by this federal grant,” said Dublin Chief Information Officer Doug McCollough. “We are now in a position to expand the region’s efforts as a ‘Smart City’ with a smart mobility technical plan and connected vehicle testing from Columbus, through Dublin and Marysville, to Honda and the Transportation Research Center in East Liberty, Ohio.
The city of Columbus’ “Smart Columbus” vision won the U.S. Department of Transportation $40 million Smart City Challenge <https://www.transportation.gov/smartcity> in June after competing against 77 cities nationwide. Smart Columbus includes testing autonomous vehicles at Easton and connected vehicle technology in in a number of Columbus locations. The city of Columbus is matching the USDOT grant with its own funds, along with $90 million in pledges from public and private sector partners.
“The impact of the NW US 33 Smart Mobility grant, along with the Smart Cities grant, continues to position the region and Ohio as a technology leader in the broadband economy,” said McCollough.
