The Pennsylvania Turnpike, which is building the toll road first discussed in the 1960s, approved a $2.7 million agreement last week with the University of Pittsburgh for a series of pilot projects during highway construction…

The four pilot projects will be:

• Redesigning noise walls using a hollow, honeycomb-like material to reduce sound and treating it with a catalyst that will capture nitrogen oxides generated by vehicles with combustion engines…

• Using the natural vibrations that vehicles cause on road surfaces to generate electricity for road signs…

• Creating a digital, three-dimensional model of a one-mile section of the highway as it is being built…

• Testing which method works best for recharging electric vehicles as they drive over the road surface.