A first-of-its-kind electric vehicle charging highway is planned for West Lafayette, and it could be the first step towards a new way to travel.
“Basically, what we’ll be doing is installing these panels that allow for the charging to wirelessly charge these cars,” says Blake Dollier, Public Relations Director for the Indiana Department of Transportation West Central District.
The project is a partnership between INDOT, Purdue University and Cummins Inc., with construction awarded to White Construction. Over the next twelve months or so, road crews will install electric panels, wires and coils on U.S. 231/U.S. 52 between Cumberland Avenue and Lindberg Road in West Lafayette.
The project is exactly what it sounds like: if you’re driving at highway speeds in any kind of electric car, the highway panels will begin charging the car as you head to your destination. Its like a smartphone wireless charging pad, but for your car.
“This is really the first step to the gateway of the future to, potentially, the future of highway traffic,” Dollier explains, “I would say our goal for something like this is to be successful and maybe, perhaps, inspire innovative ideas of other kinds. Here in the state of Indiana, we call ourselves the crossroads of America. It’s something we truly hope to live up to and I think this is a great step in continuing to live up to that name.”
Installation begins Monday, April 1st. You can view a full construction timeline at https://www.in.gov/indot/emerging-mobility/dynamic-wireless-power-transfer/?utm_source=agency-website&utm_medium=&utm_campaign=&utm_term=&utm_content=
INDOT reminds you to always be safe and watch out for construction crews as they begin building this new section of highway.
2 comments
This is an engineering nightmare. Wireless chargers for your phone are pretty inefficient, but thanks to the Inverse Square Law broadcasting that power 16″ between the transmitter under the road and the bottom of a car is going to be REALLY inefficient. Add to it the fact that you’re going to be powering miles and miles of this for the occasional car and this is a gigantic waste of power.
We’d make less pollution just burning gasoline.
BoonDoogle for sure. Our current transportation system, or I should say re-fueling system was paid for by private industry. No electric company is a private industry in reality. All of them are subject to state authorities. We are and will be all ripped off with the EV silliness.