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Thus, with a will and a way having been created for federally funded transportation research, Virginia Tech leapt at the opportu nity. “In 1988, Tony Hobeika said he wanted to start a transporta tion center,” said Ernie Stout, former associate vice president for research at Virginia Tech. Hobeika, a professor of civil engineering, presented information about research partnerships and support. The center was approved as one of only 10 university-wide centers. “It was a university center because transportation research is not just based in civil engineering,” said Wayne Clough, department head at the time and later dean of the Virginia Tech College of Engineering. “There was always a division of civil devoted to trans portation … divided between transportation materials and trans portation systems. When smart technologies began to appear to have a real future in transportation, it was clear that while civil had some of the knowledge base in the systems area, it lacked skills like electronics, heads-up displays, sensor technology, and recognition technologies. These other skills were needed if smart roads and smart vehicles were to be integrated into transportation systems. That was the reason that a center that reached beyond civil was needed: to build a base that would accommodate all of the skill sets required.” A handful of faculty members and students worked out of offices at 106 Faculty St., but with access to an interdisciplinary base, the Center for Transportation Research gained stature as it became a member of the national region III University Transportation Center. According to the Roanoke Times, early research included moving hazardous materials, the effectiveness of evacuation plans around Virginia nuclear power plants, and the reduction of traffic chaos during emergencies. Research totaling nearly $650,000 was supported by grants from Virginia Power, NASA, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), and the U.S. Department of Transportation. Evolution of the Smart Road A closer link between Roanoke and Virginia Tech was becoming a leading topic among legislators, and Gordon Willis Sr., president of

Rockydale Quarries Corp., formed and chaired a private organiza tion called the University Connection to promote this link. When Virginia Governor Gerald Baliles announced construction of critical highways as an initiative, Southwest Virginia legislators and business people advanced a “university connector” between Roanoke and Blacksburg as a critical highway that would be an economic development aid by improving access to intellectual re sources for businesses in Roanoke and by shortening the commute to the airport for university staff. On August 15, 1988, the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors passed a resolution affirming its support for the direct link between Inter state 81 and Blacksburg. The proposal was presented to the Com monwealth Transportation Board, which Ray Pethtel chaired. “We put it on our list, but it was not a high priority in that form,” said Pethtel. Then, in June 1989, Roanoke County Supervisor Dick Robers pro posed linking smart road technology with the Roanoke-to-Blacks burg highway, according to the Roanoke Times. Robers persuaded his colleagues that companies interested in developing and testing technologies would set up businesses in the area. “The connector gained new momentum,” said Pethtel. “Steve Mus selwhite, the member of the transportation board from the Salem district, brought the idea back to me, and we discussed it with local people. I was excited and thought it would put the common wealth in the forefront of transportation technology. In 1990, the transportation board put the road into the six-year plan. [Virginia Delegate] Dickie Cranwell played an important part in the support and promotion of the concept.” It was actually seven years before ground was broken for this smart road, but support grew in the meantime. “The smart road consumed the local discussion, but there was already national interest in smart cars and smart technology,” said Clough. “There needed to be a place to test that technology.”

Smart Road construction

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