TxDOT among winners of Intersection Safety Challenge

Jan. 17, 2024

By Ryan LaFontaine

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation has announced the winners of its Intersection Safety Challenge, awarding TxDOT for efforts to improve pedestrian safety at intersections.

TxDOT and the Texas A&M Transportation Institute received a $1.9 million federal grant earlier this year to develop a next-generation intersection that promises to improve safety for the most at-risk road users.

“Pedestrians and bicyclists are always at a higher risk on the road, especially at busy intersections,” said Michael Chacon, TxDOT’s head of traffic safety. “This new technology is proving to be a lifesaver, literally. Everyone involved in this project should be proud of the work they’ve accomplished.”

One in five fatal crashes in Texas involve a pedestrian and one in 50 involve a bicyclist. The Smarter Intersections Project uses advanced communications technology to alert pedestrians and bicyclists to buses making turns. The project uses cellular signals transmitted from transit buses and emergency vehicles to hardware installed at intersections.

First tested at two intersections in Texas, the new technology collects pedestrian behavior data using LiDAR sensors. The software is able to reliably observe pedestrian behavior and can help reduce conflicts between pedestrians and vehicles at signalized intersections.

The U.S. DOT’s Challenge aims to transform roadway intersection safety by incentivizing new and emerging technologies that identify and address unsafe conditions involving vehicles, and vulnerable road users at intersections.

For the first stage of the Challenge, U.S. DOT received 120 innovative concept papers and selected 15 for prize awards.