U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao said Carnegie Mellon University is leading the way in automated transportation research on a visit to Pittsburgh Thursday, citing $8.4 million Department of Transportation grants the university received in conjunction with PennDOT.

“Pennsylvania received the largest of the automated driving system’s grants,” Chao said during a Thursday-afternoon speech at CMU. “This demonstration project will study the safe integration of automated driving technology into work zones. That’s so important, because a disproportionate number of roadway workers and first responders are hurt in work zones.”

Chao spoke at an event celebrating the 10-year anniversary of Traffic21, an institute at CMU intended to create an “intelligent transportation system” in the Pittsburgh region.

Chao said new transportation technology like automated vehicles will only grow in the future, though she recognized the public’s distrust of and uncertainty about it.
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