The proposed 39-mile project is envisioned to run from M-10 to Ann Arbor-Saline Road with infrastructure intended to disseminate information to motorists using connected and autonomous vehicles, or CAVs, about everything from traffic conditions to road obstructions, including sensors and wireless communications. If the corridor is developed, it would use one existing lane each way on I-94.
Usage fees emerged as one possibility as state transportation officials on Monday went over the findings of an environmental impact study of the project during a meeting in Van Buren Township. Though the draft study concluded that the CAV lane would not have significant environmental consequences, the assessment does propose a few mitigations for the projects impacts, including a low-income assistance program for discounts of any usage fees that could be put in place and notice of traffic disruption from construction.
Van Buren Township Trustee Kevin Martin was the only attendee who provided public comment at Monday's meeting. He said he has a concern about how the project might impact deer he sees in the median on the stretch of I-94 between Merriman and Telegraph Roads, where he believes they have migrated because of tree clearing on the sides of the highway.
"I see that the deer are starting to come out of the woods and come into the less-wooded areas of the median. So I'm just concerned about their well-being," he said.
Testing of a three-mile pilot segment of the road started earlier this year and is expected to run through the end of 2025. If construction of the full project goes forward eventually, the vision is for the corridor to span just under 40 miles from Ann Arbor-Saline Road in Washtenaw County to M-10 in Wayne County.
Sensor poles 55 feet tall mark the median in the pilot's first portion Haggerty to Rawsonville Roads. The roadway and traffic conditions train software models to learn information such as the difference between a car tire and a paper bag sitting in the road.
If the project goes forward beyond the pilot, the next phase would change little from the public's perspective, said Ryan Mitchell, the administrator's for MDOT's Office of Major Projects. Sensors and cameras would be implemented, but all vehicles could continue using the lanes. Creation of a dedicated lane, with associated usage fees, would go forward only if there's enough demand.
MDOT anticipates the full project would use private funding, and has not provided any money so far aside from staff time by the project team. The agency awarded a contract to Washington, D.C.-based firm Cavnue for development and implementation work on a CAV corridor. Cavnue has funded all costs so far for concept design, permitting and the environmental assessment study. Cavnue would also have a role in the CAV corridor's operations if the project moves forward, according to MDOT.
Construction of the entire corridor is not a sure thing, Mitchell said.
"The technology is evolving, and MDOT wants to benefit from that technology. But we don't want to put the public at risk for the cost of that technology, and whether it may or may not move in one way, or in one direction or another," he said.
Tamara Gage, who lives in Belleville, attended Monday's hearing because she's seen rumors about the project swirling on social media, but wanted to make sure she got accurate information. She felt like the presentation did answer questions she had, including clarity that the project would use private funding and that the corridor would have multiple entry and exit points.
Gage didn't think a CAV lane would be a necessity for her personally when she's driving locally, but she sees the value of the pilot project as a test case for this kind of roadway across the U.S., even if a permanent, dedicated lane for autonomous vehicles is still several evolutionary steps away.
"With every evolution, it has steps, right?" she said. "You can't eat an elephant in one sitting."
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