On Tuesday, Omaha, Nebraska’s eX² Technology, which develops turnkey smart city, intelligent transportation, private network and critical infrastructure solutions, announced that it has reached a major milestone in an ongoing, multimillion-dollar Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) project for the I-80/I-90 Indiana Toll Road.
The announcement was made jointly with ITR Concession Company (ITRCC), which is owned by IFM Investors, the Australian-based institutional investor in infrastructure that is owned by 23 global pension funds, and which manages the 157-mile paid highway. eX² said it has completed a fiber optic communications system that is at the core of ITRCC’s $34 million ITS program to monitor traffic flows, wrong-way drivers, and provide advanced messaging on the Indiana thoroughfare.
The project kicked off in March 2019 with the design and installation of conduit and fiber optic cable to complete an ITS network spanning Northern Indiana from the Illinois to the Ohio state lines. In 2020 alone, ITRCC says these ITS installations resulted in a 79 percent decrease in secondary crashes while also providing high-level information to travelers about upcoming roadway conditions.
Backbone for future infrastructure
“The benefits of the fiber communications network extend far beyond safety,” said Nic Barr, CEO of the ITR Concession Company. “The Toll Road corridor connects to more than 124 million people and provides a wealth of opportunity to foster, support and propel local communities across Northern Indiana.”
ITRCC’s communications infrastructure was built with additional conduit and fiber optic cable capacity to serve as a backbone for future community broadband expansion initiatives in northern Indiana and beyond. eX² Technology is currently marketing the conduit and dark fiber on a competitively neutral lease basis.
Funds generated by the commercialization program are invested back into the Toll Road for continued roadway safety and customer improvements.
“It is with great excitement that we announce the completion of the ITR network,” said Jay Jorgensen, Chief Operating Officer, eX² Technology. “The fiber-rich network not only catapults the safety of those traveling along the Toll Road, but establishes a tri-state, open access corridor that gives surrounding communities and anchor institutions abundant broadband connection opportunities.”
In August 2020, ITRCC granted early access to its fiber network to provide Indiana’s Portage Township Schools District with the necessary bandwidth and network capacity to support a virtual learning environment for its 7,000 students amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We understand the significance of bringing broadband to these underserved markets and minimizing the digital divide,” said Jorgensen. “The pandemic has only heightened the need for this much-needed critical infrastructure.”
Additionally, eX² Technology is in the process of designing, deploying, and integrating a truck parking information management system with an estimated November 2021 completion date. The truck parking system will connect and monitor a dozen truck parking sites and dynamic message signs to provide truckers with real-time information on available truck parking spaces across the Toll Road corridor.
Earlier this year, eX² was selected by the town of Bristol, New Hampshire to build a fiber-to-the-premise (FTTP) network to connect residences, businesses, municipal and educational buildings to broadband internet. The telecom infrastructure project was funded in part through a $1.52 million emergency grant funded by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the only such municipal telecom infrastructure project in New Hampshire to receive CARES Act fund. Bristol officials said upon announcing the project that the town is “on the cusp of being a national model for rural communities,” and that they hope the network launch will encourage further development of a tech corridor along Northern New Hampshire’s I-93 highway.
