PennDOT on Wednesday received an $8.4 million federal grant that it will use over four years to develop a system to allow self-driving vehicles to navigate safely through work zones.

The grant was the largest of eight awards worth nearly $60 million announced by U.S Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao to study various safety factors for self-driving vehicles…

In its application, PennDOT said it plans to work with a team of consultants to develop computer simulations of self-driving vehicles moving through construction zones, followed by controlled tests at a test track at Penn State University in State College and live tests at active construction sites.

PennDOT has assembled a nine-member team for the project, including Carnegie Mellon University and PPG Paints.
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