Oakland County Extends Deadline For Autonomous Vehicle Bids

Companies able to “plan, build, deploy and maintain” an autonomous vehicle network now have until Feb. 15 to submit bids to Oakland County, the county said in a statement. The county is interested in building new networks that would make driving safer.

The county has extended its deadline til the 15th, and individual companies or collaborating groups are encouraged to apply. The systems must incorporate signals, equipment and software. These kinds of systems are designed to make traffic safer by sending instant electronic messages to cars on the road to alert drivers to potential dangers. Examples the county offered include warnings if another vehicle runs a red light. The county,along with the Road Commission for Oakland County, is seeking bids for this project that, when in place, would help drivers in the county stay safe at no cost to them.

“This first-of-its-kind request for proposal was issued in December but was extended because of the complexity of the request and to give interested companies additional time to complete their bids,” Irene Spanos, the county’s director of economic development and community affairs, said in a statement.

County Executive L. Brooks Patterson created the Oakland County Connected Vehicle Task Force specifically to create what the county calls “the world’s first countywide connected mobility system.” When complete, the system will allow connected vehicles to transmit their own location “to other vehicles and to road infrastructure.”

A 16-page request for proposal drafted by the country explains the requirements for any potential bidders. The proposal asks interested companies to make designs for a new system of “dedicated short-range communication that can be easily adopted throughout the United States and other jurisdictions.” Oakland County, with its 5,600 miles of roads and with over 2,000 intersection, makes a good test site for this kind of technology.

The new proposal deadline is Feb. 15, at 2 p.m. Potential bidders with questions about the request for proposal should contact Scott Guzzy from the county’s Purchasing Division at (248) 858-5484 or can email guzzys@oakgov.com.

Photo by Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images/Getty Images.