$175 billion sought for intelligent transportation

A six-year, $175 billion White House proposal to support state acquisition of intelligent transportation equipment out of federal road and bridge construction accounts has gone to Congress, whose members are assessing how the money is to be distributed among the states. Known as the National Economic Crossroads Efficiency Act, the plan also seeks $680 million for intelligent transportation technology development, mostly sponsored by the Intelligent Transportation System Joint Program Office of the Department of Transportation. Federal officials have already spent about $1.2 billion on this technology since 1992 and have released studies purporting that, for every dollar spent on intelligent transport, Americans save eight dollars in reduced accidents and traffic jams. Experts at Apogee Research, a market research firm in Bethesda, Md., project cumulative intelligent transportation system spending of $400 billion by 2015. - J.R.