Clearing the Roadblocks to Transportation Innovation
Breakthrough technologies are emerging rapidly throughout U.S. transportation systems, from AI-enabled traffic management pilots by state DOTs to the continued expansion of automated vehicle (AV) testing and deployment. Yet the institutions responsible for researching, testing, and deploying these innovations were largely designed for a different era, with funding and governance structures organized around distinct transportation modes, limiting their ability to integrate cross-cutting, system-level technologies.
Over the past few years, the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) has engaged hundreds of local governments, researchers, industry leaders, and transportation experts to better understand where the most pressing transportation R&D gaps lie. These insights informed FAS’ recent recommendations to the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) as it shapes its Research and Development (R&D) Strategic Plan.
Talking with hundreds of people, so many kept saying the same thing: the biggest barriers to transportation innovation are not purely technical – they are structural. Innovation is happening across the ecosystem, but it is often fragmented, slow to deploy, and poorly coordinated across jurisdictions. Addressing structural barriers will require a more coordinated national approach to transportation innovation, including fully funding the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Infrastructure (ARPA-I), strengthening DOT’s role as a national convener, and investing in regional research networks that can bridge the gap between research and real-world deployment.
Infrastructure & Innovation Are Moving at Different Speeds
Our national transportation infrastructure was designed for station wagons, not the innovations of today and those yet to come. Roadways, signals, and transit systems were built around relatively predictable patterns of vehicle ownership and travel behavior. However, today, cities are navigating shared mobility, micromobility devices, automated vehicles, and digitally connected transportation systems operating simultaneously.
At the same time, many promising technologies already exist that could improve transportation systems. Advanced sensing tools, AI-enabled traffic management systems, and connected infrastructure platforms have the potential to improve safety, reduce congestion, and enhance system resilience. Advanced construction methods and materials are being developed to the point where efforts like ARPA-I’s eXceptional Bridges through Innovative Design and Groundbreaking Engineering (X-BRIDGE) program can realistically set out to answer the question: how can we deliver bridges at half the cost, in half the time, and with twice the lifespan?
The challenge? Deployment. Traditional procurement and financing models are often designed for long-term infrastructure projects rather than rapidly evolving digital technologies. Even when solutions are available, local governments may struggle to evaluate, pilot, and scale them. These challenges are particularly pronounced for smaller jurisdictions with limited technical capacity.
Emerging Technologies Raise New Research Questions
Innovation moves quickly, research and validation do not.
Think of the automated vehicles piloted in a major metropolitan near you (we’ve seen them drop off some folks at FAS HQ). Demonstrating their safety relative to human drivers requires robust evaluation methods and standardized testing frameworks. Researchers must also better understand how automated systems will integrate with transit networks, emergency response operations, and existing road users.
Meanwhile, intangible data is becoming the backbone of modern transportation systems. Connected vehicles, smart infrastructure, and real-time mobility services all depend on the ability to collect and share large volumes of data. Sounds great, but transportation data ecosystems remain fragmented across jurisdictions and operators that limit interoperability and coordination.
Those we’ve spoken to have emphasized ensuring transportation innovation benefits communities of all sizes. Many emerging technologies are first piloted in large metropolitan areas, leaving smaller cities and rural communities with fewer opportunities to participate in early deployments. Accessibility considerations, including ensuring new mobility systems work for people with disabilities, must also remain central to transportation innovation efforts.
Together, these challenges highlight the need for a more coordinated approach to transportation research, development, and deployment.
ARPA-I: Building a Stronger Transportation Innovation Ecosystem
Addressing these challenges will require a more integrated national transportation R&D strategy – one that combines breakthrough research, regional experimentation, and strong federal coordination.
How can we do it? Congress should fully fund and support ARPA-I. ARPA-I was designed to support high-risk, high-reward research capable of addressing systemic infrastructure challenges. Its milestone-driven model allows researchers to test ambitious ideas quickly and refine them through rapid iteration. This approach is particularly well suited to emerging areas such as digital twins for infrastructure systems, AI-enabled safety technologies, and advanced construction methods.
At the same time, DOT must continue strengthening its role as a national convener for transportation innovation. Federal leadership ensures that lessons learned from pilot programs are shared across jurisdictions, that data standards remain interoperable, and that research investments align with real-world operational needs.
Finally, investing in regional transportation research networks can help bridge the gap between research and deployment. Regional Centers of Excellence that connect universities, public agencies, industry partners, and nonprofit organizations can provide environments for collaborative experimentation, workforce development, and technology transfer. These networks would mean that small jurisdictions have opportunities to participate in innovation efforts.
Turning Research Insights into Action
The insights gathered from local governments, researchers, and industry leaders make one thing clear: the U.S. does not lack ideas for improving its transportation system. What it needs is a research ecosystem capable of turning those ideas into deployed solutions.
Fully funding ARPA-I, strengthening DOT’s innovation capacity, and investing in regional research networks would create a coordinated pipeline for transportation innovation. Congress can make this possible. Sustained appropriations for ARPA-I will ensure the agency can pursue high-risk, high-reward research programs that address systemic infrastructure challenges. Lawmakers can also support transportation innovation by directing resources toward regional research partnerships, Centers of Excellence, and workforce development initiatives that help state and local governments and manage emerging technologies.
Congress should also consider policies that modernize procurement and financing pathways for emerging transportation technologies, support interoperable data standards across jurisdictions, and provide targeted technical assistance to state and local agencies implementing advanced infrastructure systems. These steps would bridge the gap between research and deployment, particularly for smaller jurisdictions that often lack the resources to evaluate and implement new technologies.
Taken together, these actions would allow the U.S. to accelerate transportation breakthroughs while ensuring that innovations reach communities across the country. Building the transportation systems of the future will require more than new technologies, it will require building the institutions, partnerships, and policy frameworks needed to bring those technologies to life
The U.S. does not lack ideas for improving its transportation system. What it needs is a research ecosystem capable of turning those ideas into deployed solutions.
The program invites teams of researchers and local government collaborators to propose innovative projects addressing real-world transportation, safety, equity, and resilience challenges using mobility data.
While rural schools are used to being scrappy and doing more with less, without state and federal support, districts will be hard-pressed to close teacher workforce gaps on their own.
Getting into a shutdown is the easy part, getting out is much harder. Both sides will be looking to pin responsibility on each other, and the court of public opinion will have a major role to play as to who has the most leverage for getting us out.