DOT’s Vision for AI-Powered Digital Corridors for Interstate Travel

The Transportation Department is building an AI-enabled digital transportation infrastructure designed to help vehicles navigate congestion, improve safety and support a more connected national travel network.

“We’re trying to create an open-source infrastructure on the backend to enable interoperability across states. Hopefully that will lead into a national framework,” the department’s Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology Seval Oz said Friday at GovCIO Media & Research’s Federal Tech Leaders Summit in Washington D.C.

The goal of the agency’s Connected Corridors initiative is to digitize the U.S. interstate highway system by enabling states to seamlessly share traffic data along major transportation routes.

While commercial navigation platforms already provide highway information, that data often comes from disparate sources and varies by state. DOT aims to create a common framework that links those systems together, supporting smoother and more efficient interstate travel.

A key objective is improving safety through shared transportation data.

“You [will] know where there’s congestion, you know where there’s traffic problems, you know where it might be backed up, and it will be enabled to route itself through the telemetry and the backend data coming from the state,” Oz said.

The initiative’s first use case focuses on sharing lane closure data across jurisdictions.

“We’re using that as a first use case for the deployment and arranging of data interoperability, so we’re not trying to boil the ocean. We’re trying to create an open-source, lightweight infrastructure on the backend to enable interoperability across states,” she said.

Ultimately, the effort would support a national framework for transportation data standards and future rulemaking.

AI Supporting Interoperability 

DOT is also using AI to accelerate development of the proposed digital transportation infrastructure.

Oz said the department recently issued requests for information related to the initiative and received 177 responses totaling roughly 3,000 pages. Traditionally, reviewing that volume of material could take several months. By using large language models, however, DOT was able to complete initial rounds of analysis in about a week, she said.

The department used those insights to help shape policies and planning for a national digital transportation infrastructure.

For example, data about a snowstorm affecting a major highway in one state could be shared automatically with neighboring states, helping transportation officials reroute traffic and mitigate disruptions.

While some information sharing already occurs, Oz said interoperability gaps remain.

“If that data is not transmitted, if it’s not recognized as a pattern, it’s not identifiable, it can’t be shared, and it can’t be broadcasted, and therefore you again have to fall back on silos,” she said.

Expanding Beyond Highways

In fall 2025, DOT convened a series of discussions with state transportation leaders and the Transportation Research Board, encouraging states to participate in the initiative by adopting sections of highway corridors. Oz said 10 states have joined the effort.

The department also recently announced its first major funding investment in the program, including $10 million for corridor development. In addition, the Federal Highway Administration is providing $200,000 per participating state for digital deployments, totaling another $20 million, with projects expected to launch this year, she said.

The initiative extends beyond highways.

“We have rail systems, we have transit bus systems, we have marine ports,” she said.

The broader goal is to modernize and digitize transportation corridors across multiple modes, supporting both civilian and military operations through greater integration and data sharing.

The effort also involves collaboration beyond DOT, including partnerships with the departments of War, Commerce and Energy. Oz said those relationships help agencies address shared risks spanning transportation, safety and national security.

“You have shared equities, and those equities aren’t just safety, but also national security. So you have a Venn Diagram now where the Department of Transportation has significant security accountability in terms of what happens,” she said.