Econolite Celebrates 50th Anniversary of the Interstate and Takes the Innovative Mobility Showcase (IMS) on the Road
08 June 2006
Anaheim, CA - Less than 100 years ago, Americans seldom drove on paved roads and there were no guarantees that one road would connect to another as a traveler passed from one state to another. Since road systems weren't marked any better than they were built, getting lost was very common. Today, not only are the roads marked and paved (all 46,508 miles of them), they put every American within a few days drive of practically everyone else in the nation.
June 29 marks the 50th Anniversary of the day federal legislation gave the green light on one of the biggest engineering projects ever undertaken. In fact, first attempts to fund the interstate project failed, but unwilling to accept defeat, President Eisenhower resumed his relentless campaign in 1956 until it was signed later that year. Now, as we stand on the overpass of the busy interstate system, we begin to see the challenges that we face in keeping America moving safely. Consider that every year 17 million more vehicles appear on the highway and there are over six million crashes annually. Additionally, one-third of all crashes are intersection crashes.
Despite these challenges, the fact remains: the interstate highway system is an engine that has driven 50 years of unprecedented prosperity and positioned the United States to remain the world's pre-eminent power into the 21st century. To help celebrate the 50th anniversary of this marvelous tribute to human ingenuity, Econolite, leading transportation solutions provider, has teamed with Connexis, DaimlerChrysler, Eberle Design, ITS America, Image Sensing Systems, Raytheon, Shel Leader, TechnoCom, and Wireless Technology Inc. to showcase vehicle infrastructure integration and the intelligent intersection of the future.
First introduced at the 12th ITSA's Annual World Congress as part of the Innovative Mobility Showcase (IMS), this highly advanced signalized intersection provides an exchange of information between the driver and intersection operations on a level that will have significant impact on balancing heavy traffic loads while improving intersection safety and over-all mobility. Since fuel consumption will be decreased, there will be positive impacts to the environment due to reduced carbon monoxide emissions and other dangerous hydrocarbons.
Frank Provenzano, Econolite's Director of New Business Development remarks, "I congratulate AASHTO on the 50th anniversary of the interstate, we are very excited about being a part of the celebrations, and in particular, driving with the convoy across the country. Along with its partners, Econolite has refurbished its demonstration 'CamVan' to highlight the advanced signalized intersection and the future of transportation - we have created a mobile innovative mobility showcase and encourage everyone to share the experience with us!"
Throughout the month of June, people in San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Omaha, Chicago and Washington DC will have the opportunity to see live demonstrations of the IMS and Vehicle Infrastructure Integration (VII) in action. For more information on IMS and VII, please contact the Econolite representative in your area.
