Client:
Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT)
Scope:
2024 to Present
Solution:
Connected Vehicle Advanced Traffic Management System (CV-ATMS)
Michigan has made connected vehicle technology a centerpiece of its transportation future. The state's Advanced Mobility Strategic Plan and 2045 Long-Range Transportation Plan both commit to connected vehicle (CV) infrastructure as a near-term operational priority, and executing that commitment at statewide scale requires more than hardware on poles. It requires a software platform that can unify data from weather services, roadside units, work zone crews, and an expanding fleet of connected vehicles, then get that information to traffic managers, state portals, and drivers in real time. The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) selected Kapsch TrafficCom to build and operate that platform.
To support MDOT, Kapsch developed a statewide software deployment integrating weather analytics, work zone management, and connected vehicle communications into a single operational system, fully live as of 2025release 1 live in December 2025. Release 2 went live in April, 2026. The project is currently initial stages of Release 3 UAT and expected to fully complete in summer 2026.
Challenges
Michigan's road network spans two peninsulas and hundreds of miles of high-volume corridors across widely varying climate zones. Three challenges shaped what the CV-ATMS needed to solve:
Multi-source weather integration: A single weather feed cannot produce the spatial accuracy Michigan's geography requires. MDOT needed a system that could ingest data from multiple services simultaneously and convert it into precise, corridor-level alerts rather than generic geographic approximations.
Standards compliance in a maturing ecosystem: MDOT required a platform built to United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) Roadside Unit (RSU) Specification v4.1 and National Transportation Communications for ITS Protocol (NTCIP) 1218. These are standards that few vendors had implemented outside of controlled pilots. These were a prerequisite for interoperability with an infrastructure network that would continue expanding for years.
Statewide utility before full RSU coverage: Physical roadside unit deployment would happen in phases across multiple years. The platform needed to deliver operational value immediately through existing channels (the Advanced Traffic Management System (ATMS), the MI Drive, MITrip public portal, Application Programming Interface (API) data exchange) while extending direct-to-vehicle capability as infrastructure grew.
Project Scope
The CV-ATMS is a software-only platform integrating with MDOT's existing infrastructure and third-party RSUs. No Kapsch hardware is deployed; the system connects what MDOT already has and adds the intelligence layer on top.
Core ATMS integration: Bidirectional data exchange with MDOT's statewide ATMS and MI Drive, MITrip public portal via inbound/outbound APIs, enabling traffic managers and the public to see a consistent operational picture
Connected Mobility Control Center (CMCC): Field device management, message assembly, and dissemination to RSUs and Onboard Units (OBUs) across the network
Mobility Data Platform (MDP): Ingestion and processing of multi-source data feeds spanning weather, work zone, and lane closure inputs
Decision Support System (DSS): Weather analytics engine drawing on three services, including the National Weather Service (NWS), to generate corridor-level alerts and roadway condition advisories
Security Credential Management System (SCMS): Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)-delivered Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) certificate management for Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) and Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) communications, ensuring all messages between vehicles and roadside infrastructure are authenticated and secure
Solutions
Weather Analytics
The DSS ingests feeds from three weather services simultaneously and computes precise geographic polygons reflecting actual affected road corridors — replacing the blunt-radius approach most agencies use. These polygons drive alerts pushed to RSUs, the MDOT ATMS, and MI Drive. When sensor inputs such as air temperature, road surface temperature, and others cross defined thresholds, the system automatically declares a weather event and initiates dissemination.
Work Zone and Lane Closure Management: Field crews submit lane closure requests through the platform, which disseminates that data in Work Zone Data Exchange (WZDx) format (the federal standard for work zone data exchange) to the ATMS, MI Drive, and, as RSU coverage expands, directly to approaching vehicles via Traveler Information Messages (TIMs). A single entry propagates across every channel simultaneously, eliminating manual coordination between systems.
Connected Vehicle Message Dissemination: The CMCC assembles and transmits outbound messages to RSUs across the network using established CV standards:
- TIMs: Road closures and weather events delivered to approaching vehicles
- MAP messages: Digital lane geometry for OBUs, including signal phase and location data
- Road Safety Messages: Speed advisories and zone warnings, including school zone alerts
Security and Certificate Management: All V2I and V2V communications are authenticated through the platform's integrated SCMS. Delivered as a SaaS solution using PKI, it manages certificate issuance and validation for every message exchanged between OBUs and RSUs - a requirement for operating in a production CV environment and a component that agencies often source separately.
Hardware-Agnostic Interoperability: Compliance with USDOT RSU Specification v4.1 and NTCIP 1218 means the platform communicates with third-party RSUs, not only Kapsch hardware. As Michigan's RSU footprint grows, the CV-ATMS accommodates new infrastructure without architectural changes and without locking MDOT to a single vendor.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the system handle weather data from multiple sources?
The DSS ingests feeds from three services simultaneously (including the NWS) and computes geographic polygons that reflect actual affected corridors. Alert generation is automated based on sensor thresholds, and the same data flows to the ATMS, MI Drive, and connected vehicles in the field through a single processing pass.
Does the platform cover flooding as well as weather events?
Yes. Beyond standard weather alerts, the system identifies both active and predictive roadway flooding conditions, which is a capability built directly into the weather analytics engine given Michigan's geography and seasonal patterns.
Is this a pilot program?
No. The CV-ATMS is a full production deployment covering Michigan's statewide road network, live as of 2025. It is among the first statewide implementations of this platform architecture in North America and one of the first live deployments of NTCIP 1218 outside a pilot environment.
How is communications security handled?
Every V2V and V2I message is authenticated through an integrated SCMS, delivered as a SaaS PKI solution. Certificate management runs within the same platform rather than requiring a separate vendor or standalone system.
Does the system require Kapsch roadside hardware?
No. The CV-ATMS communicates with third-party RSUs via USDOT RSU Specification v4.1 and NTCIP 1218. MDOT is not tied to a single hardware vendor, and the platform accommodates new infrastructure as the state's RSU network expands.
