Skip to main content

Autonomous vehicles set to get their own special roads in Michigan

The state of Michigan has unveiled an ambitious plan to build roadways solely for autonomous vehicles. In what would be a first for the U.S., the initial route would cover a distance of about 40 miles and run between Detroit and Ann Arbor.

Part of Michigan’s ongoing efforts to establish itself as the hub of autonomous-vehicle technology research and development, the special road could be built alongside Michigan Avenue and I-94 and used initially for testing and also public transportation using autonomous shuttles.

State governor Gretchen Whitmer announced the project, as well as details of the public-private partnership behind it, at a special event in the Motor City on Thursday, August 13, describing it as “the world’s most sophisticated roadway.”

Vehicles given clearance to use the road will be connected to a remote computer system that would process data from sensors along the route. This would allow the system to control the speed of the vehicles to maximize the efficiency of traffic movement. In other words, folks manually driving their own cars on the regular road next to the new route can expect to see the autonomous vehicles outpacing their own.

The project is being led by Cavnue, a company owned by Alphabet-funded Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners, itself a spin-off of Alphabet’s Sidewalk Labs that’s geared toward building cities of the future. Keen to involve important players in the world of autonomous vehicles, the project organizers have created an advisory board whose members include the likes of Ford, General Motors, Argo AI, Arrival, BMW, Honda, Toyota, TuSimple, and Waymo.

Cavnue is also future-proofing the roadway so that as autonomous technology becomes more advanced, the road will begin to accept not just test vehicles but also passenger-carrying buses and shared mobility vehicles such as vans and shuttles, as well as personal vehicles and freight-carrying trucks.

First, though, a two-year study will need to be carried out to discover if existing lanes can be used, or whether new ones are required. There’s no word yet on the cost of the project. Private money is expected to finance the study phase of the project, with decisions yet to be taken on the later stages, should construction go ahead.

Commenting on the plan, Governor Whitmer said: ‘Here in Michigan, the state that put the world on wheels, we are taking the initial steps to build the infrastructure to help us test and deploy the cars of the future,” adding, “As we rebuild our roads to ensure every Michigander can drive to work and drop their kids at school safely, we will also continue working to build smart infrastructure to help prepare us for the roads of tomorrow.”

Editors' Recommendations

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
A weird thing just happened with a fleet of autonomous cars
A passenger getting into a Cruise robotaxi.

In what must be one of the weirder stories linked to the development of autonomous vehicles, a fleet of Cruise self-driving cars gathered together at an intersection in San Francisco earlier this week, parked up, and blocked traffic for several hours. And to be clear: No, they weren't supposed to do that.

Some observers may have thought they were witnessing the start of the robot uprising, but the real reason for the mishap was more prosaic: An issue with the platform's software.

Read more
Elon Musk eyes 2024 for Tesla robotaxi sans steering wheel, pedals
Elon Musk - Tesla CEO

Tesla is aiming to mass produce a robotaxi by 2024, CEO Elon Musk revealed during an earnings call with investors on Wednesday as the company reported better-than-expected quarterly figures.

The dedicated robotaxi will feature a “futuristic” design and come without a steering wheel or pedals, Musk said, adding that the vehicle, which would build on the automaker’s current self-driving technology, could be “a massive driver of Tesla’s growth.”

Read more
Officers confused as they pull over an empty self-driving car
Cruise

In what appears to be the first incident of its kind, police officers recently pulled over a self-driving car with no one inside it.

The incident, which took place on a street in San Francisco earlier this month, was caught on video by a passing pedestrian. It shows several traffic cops pondering about how to handle the incident after stopping the vehicle for failing to have its front lights on while driving at night.

Read more