This pooled fund study will fund consultant support for the I-10 Western Connected Freight Corridor Project. This project was envisioned by the state DOT directors of California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas in September 2014, who agreed to initiate a project to demonstrate key technologies for freight movement along the I-10 corridor running through their respective states. The vision for this project is to provide a streamlined “end-to-end” and connected vehicle experience for safe freight carriers, reducing friction for economic development in the West. Transportation agencies must be prepared for the growing technology wave and demand for Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) to be deployed on the nation’s highways. Expertise and preparedness for these new technologies and the associated policy choices must be developed among involved transportation agencies so they can make informed choices, form partnerships, and begin to understand ways to fund and deploy what will be a large, complex, and cost-intensive process of technologically upgrading the transportation system infrastructure. The freight industry, as an already regulated, instrumented, and data-intensive segment, is an appropriate partner to engage through the process of developing strategies for technology deployment. A multi-jurisdictional approach to implementation can lead to cost savings through economies of scale and avoidance of duplicative handling and administrative overhead. Testing and piloting of ITS is best conducted over the entire corridor where vehicles may potentially travel. Participating jurisdictions in the western United States will benefit from pilot projects that test issues such as interoperability policies for data exchange and remittance of revenues to the proper jurisdiction. As members of this partnership examine the technology systems and conduct demonstrations or systems tests, their discoveries and the lessons learned will be recorded and shared with other members as part of a community of practice. Value can be derived from multiple jurisdictions participating in this common research project.

The portion of I-10 under consideration extends east from the vicinity of the ports of Los Angles and Long Beach in the Los Angeles region, through the cities of Phoenix and Tucson, across New Mexico, passes through El Paso and San Antonio, and ends in Houston, a total of about 1500 miles in length. The project objectives include the following: • All Interstate credentialing and permitting information will be handled “end-to-end” with a single permit per load. • Truck parking and reservation systems will be in place at strategic locations, expandable as needed and as practical. • Interstate transponder technology (example: PrePass and/or PrePass 360) will be in use to facilitate a single inspection for each truck and load, once the truck is on the Corridor. • Interstate Weigh-In-Motion (WIM) devices will be in place and communicating between and among participating states from LA/Long Beach to Houston. • A fleet of five to ten trucks, with drivers and employing selected connected vehicle technologies (to be determined), will successfully navigate from LA/Long Beach to Houston in a driver-assisted Truck Platoon.

The first action needed for this project is to use the System Engineering process to further develop the concept to set the stage for future actions. Since this effort is being pursued in addition to the regular duties of staff involved from each state, the most efficient way to accomplish the objectives is to retain the services of a qualified transportation consultant. A project panel will be established, consisting of appropriate representatives from each of the participating states. This panel will draft the Scope of Work for the concept development, and will competitively select the best consultant to perform the work. It will then guide and oversee the work of the consultant through the period of performance. Some of the expected deliverables will be User Needs, Concept of Operations, System Requirements, and high-level System Design. When the concept of operations meets approval, the coalition will move forward to deploy the selected technologies on all or part of the Corridor.