The Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority (THEA) announced the conclusion of a $27 million innovation project the agency began in 2015, the THEA CV Pilot.

The pilot implemented connected vehicle (CV) technology into real-life scenarios using the Selmon Expressway as a living lab for testing, according to THEA's news release.

The pilot began in September 2015, when the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) designated THEA as a test bed for CV technology. The award led to a full-scale operation of CV devices throughout downtown Tampa, culminating in a collaboration between Honda, Hyundai America Technical Center Inc, and Toyota Motor North America.

The THEA CV Pilot produced open shared data that can be used to help spur private/public collaborations. Data demonstrated that the THEA CV Pilot prevented 21 potential pedestrian crashes, delivered 19 red light violation warnings, avoided 17 potential vehicle collisions, alerted 14 wrong-way drivers, and issued over 20,000 safety advisories.

"These stats are impactful," said Robert Frey, THEA director of planning and innovation. "All of these alerts represent a person that avoided a traffic incident like a collision or crash. The pilot successfully demonstrated that connected vehicle technologies transmit crucial transportation information which can save the lives of drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists."

The THEA CV Pilot consisted of four phases of programming:

• Phase 1 - Planning

• Phase 2 - Development

• Phase 3 - Data collection

• Phase 4 - An industry-wide collaboration with auto manufacturers.

In Phase 4, the THEA CV Pilot identified 150,000 interactions with CV-equipped vehicles, issued over 22,000 vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) warnings, and delivered almost 72 million Travel Information Messages (TIM).

"According to some of the early research, connected vehicle technology can address at least 78% of vehicle-to-vehicle related collisions,” said Sue Bai, Honda Research Institute chief engineer. "The technology we have deployed in the THEA CV Pilot is paramount in achieving Honda’s vision for a collision-free society."

The THEA Connected Vehicle Pilot came to an end on Sept. 30. With the CV Pilot ending, THEA said it will continue its efforts in advancing the Selmon Expressway and implementing intelligent transportation systems.