Smart Roads Classification Systems With the advent of automated and connected vehicle technology, research is underway in the U.S. and abroad to explore how best to integrate these vehicles into existing transportation corridors. Smart Roads Classification systems are being explored for this purpose. When planning for smart roadway corridors, factors such as automation levels, connectivity, and current road network characteristics are taken into consideration. As Hillsborough County continues to update its Corridor Plan, it will be important to identify and designate smart corridors and related classification or typologies through the planning process. Such designations are a proactive way to identify design and infrastructure needs that may require right-of- way and otherwise impact thoroughfare planning practice. Two major initiatives prove instructive regarding identifying and designating smart roadway corridors that may offer insight for the Hillsborough Corridor Plan. One is a National Cooperative Highway Research Program study titled Connected Roadway Classification System Development (Poe, 2020), and another is an international effort underway by the Permanent International Associate of Road Congresses (PIARC, 2021). NCHRP Project 20-24(112) Connected Roadway Classification System Development NCHRP Project 20-24(112) discusses connected roadway classification system development within the United States, while also establishing a framework for assessing the infrastructure and implementation of connected and automated vehicles. This study established three infrastructure approaches that can be used to classify roadway projects to support connected and automated vehicles which the author describes as “talking, seeing, and simplifying” (Table 27). The study emphasizes the importance of keeping the classification system both simple and implementable for ease in agency adoption on a domestic and international level. As technology development continues, the study recommends updating the connected roadway classification system every five years (Poe, 2020).
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