Virginia Smart Road - Road Tech

The Virginia Smart Road, also known as simply the Smart Road or Smart Highway, is a short, limited access road in Montgomery County, Virginia, used for the testing of pavement technologies and as a proving ground for new transportation technologies. The Smart Road is currently a 2.2-mile (3.5Â km) stretch of road with turn-around loops at either end. Eventually, the road will be extended to a total of 5.7 miles (9.2Â km), which will directly connect U.S. Route 460 in Blacksburg to Interstate 81 with an interchange near mile marker 121; however, there is no set time frame for completion. The Wilson Creek Bridge was built for the Smart Road and, at 175 feet (53Â m) tall, is the second tallest bridge in Virg inia. The road and bridge are operated and maintained by the Virginia Department of Transportation. It is also part of the Proposed Interstate 73 Corridor.

Features

Smart Road features and operations include, but are not limited to:

A 2.2-mile, controlled-access test track built to interstate standards
Two paved lanes
Three bridges, including the Smart Road Bridge (the second tallest state-maintained bridge in Virginia)
Full-time staff that coordinate all road activities
24/7 access control and oversight
Centralized communications
Lighting and weather system controls
Safety assurance and surveillance
Fourteen pavement sections, including an open-grade friction course
In-pavement sensors (e.g., moisture, temperature, strain, vibration, weigh-in-motion)
Zero-crown pavement section designed for flooded pavement testing
An American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)-designated surface friction testing facility
Seventy-five weather-making towers accessible on crowned and zero-crown pavement sections
Artificial snow production of up to four inches per hour (based on suitable weather conditions)
Production of differing intensities of rain with varying droplet sizes
Fog production
Two weather stations with official National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather available within one mile
Variable pole spacing designed to replicate 95 percent of national highway systems
Multiple luminaire heads, including light-emitting diode (LED) modules
A wireless mesh network variable control (i.e., luminaire dimming)
A high-bandwidth fiber network
A differential GPS base station
Complete signal phase and timing (SPaT) using remote controls
Wide shoulders for safe maneuvering during experimental testing