CDOT Launches RoadX; Dedicates $20 Million Over Next Year to Drive Transportation Innovation to the Next Level in Colorado
Denver, Colorado (PRWEB) October 29, 2015 -- At its second annual Transportation Summit 2015 featuring US Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) will announce the launch of RoadX.RoadX i s a bold vision and fast-paced enterprise venture backed with a $20 million commitment its first year towards delivering innovative solutions for crash-free, injury-free, delay-free and technologically transformed travel in Colorado.
Colorado is committed to being a national leader in the use of innovative technology to improve safety, mobility and efficiency of the state’s transportation system over the next 10 years. RoadX will team with public and industry partners to make Colorado one of the most technologically advanced transportation systems in the nation.
“RoadX isn’t just an investment that we believe is smart with our taxpayer dollars,” said Shailen Bhatt, executive director of the Colorado Department of Transportation. “It is an investment in our time as commuters, our bottom lines as businesses and our lives as travelers on our roadways. It is time for our state to take the leading role in major achievement in travel and in Colorado’s economic future.”
RoadX will create an environment where industry has a direct connection with a state that is committed to deploying comprehensive technological solutions to transform an aging transportation system.
CDOT will also convene a RoadX InnoVisers Council, co-chaired by Colorado innovator and Congressman Jared Polis, tapping innovators and advisors from within the state, across the nation and worldwide, as well as leaders from public and private industry, to guide the integration of technology into Colorado’s transportation system.
“Our state’s economic vitality is directly tied to the capacity to move people, goods and information,” said Governor John Hickenlooper. “Yet, since 1908, from which our entire country’s transportation system is based on, the long-term planning and lengthy build-out of transportation systems has evolved into an environment and culture where innovation has declined. It’s time to change that.”
Together, CDOT and its partner organizations will work to accelerate the adoption and deployment of technological solutions in five action areas including connection, transport, commuting, safety and integration including projects that reduce the cost of transporting goods, by deploying technologies that support truck platooning, frontal collision avoidance; transform a rural highway into the safest corridor in the state using technologies such as connected vehicles, smart infrastructure (virtual guardrails, smart lane markings); and deploy connected vehicle and vehicle to infrastructure technologies along key corridors like I-25 and I-70 to improve congestion.
With an annual budget of $1.4 billion, CDOT has found that recent developments in technology are bringing about opportunities to achieve the same goals through less capital construction and the deployment of more technology solutions. CDOT is committed to investing more in technology to meet its goals of safely moving people and promoting Colorado’s economy.
About the Transportation Matters Summit
The annual Transportation Matters Summit, held Wednesday, Oct. 28 from noon – 4:30 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Denver, CO and featuring US Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx, focuses on how the country – and specifically Colorado – plans to move beyond the 20th century thinking that has defined our country’s transportation system to create a more nimble system capable of leading 21st century innovations and change. The Summit showcases leading edge technology and profiles implementation strategies from around the world.
Download links for B-roll:
Gov. Hickenlooper and Future Cars B-roll — bit.ly/GovBRoll
Gov. Hickenlooper drives the Arrow SAM Car without touching the steering wheel. Then he drives a BMW 7 Series and experiences the safety features of the future.
CDOT Executive Director Shailen Bhatt B-roll — bit.ly/BhattBRoll
CDOT Executive Director Shailen Bhatt drives a BMW 7 Series and the car's safety features are explained in detail.
Arrow SAM Car B-roll — bit.ly/ArrowBRoll
CDOT Executive Director Shailen Bhatt and members of the public ride in the Arrow SAM Car.
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Meghan Dougherty, http://, +1 (720) 560-0177, [email protected]
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