VTTI hosts free tours of Virginia Smart Road facility
The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) will host the semi-annual Virginia Smart Road public open house from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, April 27.
Members of the community are invited to tour the Smart Road to get a first-hand look at innovative transportation research conducted in the region. The event will include a brief video and informational session, followed by a tour of the Smart Road Control Room, the opportunity to see several instrumented vehicles, and will conclude with a trip onto the Smart Road via Blacksburg Transit buses. There will be no charge for the tours and guests will receive souvenirs of their visit.
“We think it’s important for the public to see how the Smart Road is helping us solve transportation problems, such as improving night visibility for drivers, alerting drivers of roadway hazards, designing more durable pavements that are less costly to maintain, and enhancing visibility in crosswalks to reduce pedestrian fatalities,” said VTTI’s Operations Director Cindy Wilkinson.
While touring the Smart Road Control Room, visitors will learn how Smart Road information is monitored and collected. Tours will highlight the Smart Road’s weather generation equipment, lighting and power controls, experimental roadway infrastructure, one of the tallest bridges in Virginia, and the roadway surveillance camera system.
Rain towers will be active during the Smart Road tours. These testing towers have the capability for researchers to produce up to 5 inches of rain per hour, as well as up to 10 inches of snow per hour given the correct atmospheric conditions. A fog-like mist, reducing visibility to as little as 3 feet, also is possible but will not be demonstrated during the tours.
David Clarke, Virginia Department of Transportation’s (VDOT) resident engineer at VTTI, said, “The Smart Road is a nationally and even internationally known research facility right here in our backyard. There was a lot of public debate and input during the design of the Smart Road, so we feel that it’s important to keep the public informed and aware of the valuable research taking place here.”
The Smart Road is a 2.2 mile, two-lane road used specifically as a research facility. When it is completed, the Smart Road will be a six-mile connector highway between Blacksburg and Interstate 81 with the first two miles continuing to operate as a controlled test facility.
From I-81, take Exit 118B to Rt. 460W. Follow signs to Virginia Tech/Blacksburg. Take Exit 5AB (Smart Road/Industrial Park Drive). Follow 5A to Industrial Park Drive. Turn right at end of ramp, and then make an immediate right onto Transportation Research Drive. Turn left onto Transportation Research Plaza and VTTI is located in the gray brick building.
From 460E, take Exit 5BA. Veer left onto 5B toward Blacksburg. Turn left at light onto Main Street. Turn right at the next stop light onto Industrial Park Drive. Turn right onto Transportation Research Drive. Turn left onto Transportation Research Plaza and VTTI is located in the gray brick building.
Alternate transportation to the Blacksburg area will be provided by the SmartWay bus from Roanoke to the Corporate Research Center in Blacksburg. For details about the SmartWay shuttle, contact Blacksburg Transit at (540) 961-1185 or Valley Metro at (540) 982-6622. For more information about the upcoming Smart Road tours, please e-mail OpenHouse@vtti.vt.edu or call (540) 231-1500.
