How will connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) impact capacity and change transportation infrastructure needs? Important questions still face transportation planners, but agencies need information now to make investment and policy decisions to plan for future needs.

A pooled-fund study spearheaded by the Oregon Department of Transportation and funded by 14 total state DOTs is measuring how CAVs will impact roadway capacity. The study uses microsimulation in realistic networks to predict future capacity effects on freeways, arterials, and intersections, and study results are now available to help planners account for capacity impacts of CAVs on freeways and arterials in 2045 and 2050 long-range transportation plans.

In a webinar on December 8, 2020, we presented findings from this study and held a panel discussion on what these findings mean for transportation planners who are seeking to incorporate emerging technologies like CAVs into long-range transportation plans. If you missed the live event, you can catch the recording here: