The Michigan Department of Transportation requested that the Center for Automotive Research conduct a study of the economic impacts of vehicle infrastructure integration on the State of Michigan, including the effects on employment and a comparison of net costs and benefits. Vehicle infrastructure integration consisted of applying both vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication to the tasks of improving safety, enhancing mobility and improving quality of life. The study determined that the annual costs to the State of Michigan of deploying, operating, and maintaining a vehicle infrastructure integration system could cost approximately $370 million. Despite this hefty price tag, the system would add over 16,000 annual full-time jobs to the state and would contribute $177 million in income tax revenues. This study decided it would be a good idea for the state of Michigan to proceed on developing and deploying a comprehensive vehicle infrastructure integration system, even though all questions were not resolved by this analysis.
