VDOT outlines readiness plan for connected and automated vehicles, highlights 24 investments and 495-factor assessment

Amanda Hamm, who identified herself as a lead for VDOT’s connected and automated vehicle program, told the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority Transportation Technology Committee on April 13 that the department has built a custom ‘readiness’ assessment and an investment roadmap to prepare infrastructure for emerging vehicle technologies.

"Automated vehicle ... is a vehicle that can conduct some or all of the driving task," Hamm said, explaining distinctions among automated, connected and connected automated vehicles and what each category means for infrastructure owners.

Hamm described the assessment VDOT used to gauge readiness: an internal workbook with 495 factors across four dimensions—people, processes, infrastructure and technology—and a maturity scale from 0 (nothing done) to 4 (fully ready). The department placed most capabilities at level 2 (best current practices) and identified gaps to address in the near term.

From that work, VDOT produced a list of 24 investments and a set of near-term projects. Hamm singled out a systems-mapping project to catalog data sources, evaluate whether existing systems can ingest new data, and estimate costs for changes. "We are going to do this project to map all of those options out there in the world to our systems that might use them specifically," she said.

Hamm also reviewed field demonstrations and pilots. She highlighted an Audi traffic-light information application that uses VDOT signal data, a July C‑V2X demonstration that combined traffic-signal information and a connected work zone, and a pilot of an automated truck‑mounted attenuator designed to reduce risk to workers.

Hamm said VDOT is exploring user-facing tools such as a work-zone builder app to provide standardized, regulation‑compliant work‑zone layouts and to generate in-vehicle or dashboard alerts (for example, lower-speed advisories within work zones). She described ongoing work to integrate speed-limit and variable-speed-limit feeds into vehicle data portals and to test lower-speed alerts pushed to dashboards.

Committee members asked how VDOT will engage the public and local staff. Hamm said outreach will be layered by audience, with staff training for internal users and targeted public workshops for projects that could affect access to technology. When asked about retrofits, she said retrofit kits are feasible for specialized fleets and buses but are cost‑prohibitive for many passenger vehicles.

The presentation touched on regulatory context: Hamm said NHTSA has finalized narrow occupant‑protection rules for some automated driving systems but that broader federal rulemaking is expected. She also noted recent industry demonstrations—such as a freight operator’s long-distance driverless run and a manufacturer petition to NHTSA to allow sale of a driverless vehicle—as indicators of rapid change.

Why it matters: The assessment and investment roadmap are intended to give jurisdictions specific projects they can seek funding for in coming NVTA programming cycles and to ensure Virginia’s infrastructure and back-end systems are ready to exchange data with industry and the public.

The committee did not take formal action on the VDOT plan at the meeting; staff offered to share the VDOT report, the 495-factor workbook, and use-case materials with jurisdictions and NVTA committees for follow-up.

Ending: VDOT staff said they will continue to provide materials, run pilot demonstrations and work with localities to translate the strategy into fundable projects for the NVTA transaction update and the six-year program.