Henry County wins federal grant to develop statewide first connected-vehicle deployment plan

Henry County announced Jan. 7 that the county has been awarded a U.S. Department of Transportation Smart Grant to fund a countywide plan to deploy connected-vehicle technology, officials said.

The plan will be developed at no cost to the county by P3 Mobility under a contract approved by the county and is intended to create a roadmap for deploying wireless communications between vehicles, traffic signals and other road users to improve safety, reduce congestion and lower crash-related costs.

Sam Baker, Henry County transportation director, told the Board of Commissioners the project will be the first documented, countywide connected-vehicle deployment plan in Georgia and that the federal grant covers the full cost. "Henry County has been awarded a smart grant by the U.S. Department of Transportation, which is covering the entire cost of this planned development. As a result, there is no cost to Henry County for this project," Baker said.

Jeremy Ward, a consultant with P3 Mobility, outlined the technology and the county's timetable. He described connected-vehicle systems as "a standardized language that vehicles can use to communicate wirelessly with other vehicles or with traffic signals, pedestrians, mobile devices, or any other entity in the system." Ward said the plan will draw on existing pilot projects in the county — including an emergency-vehicle preemption prototype that gives first responders priority at traffic signals — and will evaluate countywide costs, funding options and workforce training needs.

Ward said the project team began data collection in October 2024, is interviewing stakeholders across the county and expects a draft plan by August 2025, with a final plan delivered in October 2025. The plan will also position Henry County for a follow-on federal Smart Grant application to support actual deployment.

No formal vote was required for the presentation. Commissioners offered brief comments and thanks to county staff for securing the grant and to P3 Mobility for leading the planning effort.

The county will present further milestones and stakeholder outreach opportunities as the plan moves through data collection and drafting stages; the timeline presented to the board calls for public engagement during spring 2025 and additional stakeholder meetings before the draft and final deliverables are produced.

Sources: Presentation to the Henry County Board of Commissioners, Jan. 7, 2025; remarks by Sam Baker and Jeremy Ward.