A system that will speed up your travels

It’s like hacking a traffic light to give you the green light, but, you know, it’s legal.

Traffic lights that turn green throughout your commute may seem like an “Italian job,” but thanks to a major infusion of federal funds, more Salt Lake City transit riders will soon benefit from a fast track to their destination.

Utah was one of three states selected by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration to deploy vehicle-to-everything, or V2X, technology. The $20 million in federal grants will allow the Utah Department of Transportation to retrofit intersections with sensors that will send information to approaching vehicles.

The technology can notify cars of weather impacts, accidents and even pedestrians to give drivers time to adapt before coming into sight of an obstacle or slowdown, according to the federal government.

It will also speed up bus travel through signal prioritization.

V2X capabilities are already present on 87 Utah Transit Authority buses, Executive Director Jay Fox said during a news conference Thursday, allowing buses to have a few extra seconds on green lights. UTA’s entire fleet, he added, will be equipped with this technology within five years.

UDOT snow plows also feature V2X technology, which allows operators to clear roads faster and alert drivers of plowing areas, Executive Director Carlos Braceras said. He expects technology to spark a major change in the way people drive.

“When seat belts became mandatory, we began to see a decline in the rate of serious injuries and deaths in our country. When (automatic braking systems) were introduced, you could really see the change that impact had; when the airbags deployed – same thing,” Braceras said. “I believe that a massive deployment of the vehicle to X, we’re going to look back years and say, ‘Wow.’”

Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt said Thursday’s announcement was part of a larger plan to make the technology more widely available. Automakers, Bhatt said, will need to understand the need to deploy V2X technology “at scale, because that’s the only way to actually get connectivity.”

Utah already has the nation’s first “connected” vehicle corridor along Redwood Road, and UTA buses equipped with special radios already communicate with traffic lights, making the Beehive State a pioneer in V2X systems.

About 20 percent of Salt Lake City’s traffic signals are equipped with this technology, including the lights at Foothill Drive and 2100 East, where UDOT officials demonstrated transit signal prioritization at the city’s press conference. THURSDAY. UDOT said the city plans to get up to 25 percent of its signals using this technology in the coming months.

Mayor Erin Mendenhall welcomed this investment.

“My watch tells me when I’m about to close an exercise ring. It tells me to get out and move. It tells me when I need to get up because I’ve been sitting too long,” she said. “Now imagine… the bridge, the road, a light, a vehicle in front of you – telling you and your vehicle that you are in danger, that you need to behave differently. … It’s a huge benefit for the state of Utah, and just a few other states, to be at the forefront of this investment with our federal partners.”