Base PDH

Impacts of Automated Vehicles on Highway Infrastructure

Emerging Tech

Last Updated: April 19, 2026

PDH_CREDITS
3 Hours
PRICE
$30.00

Summary

This course draws on NCHRP research examining the potential impacts of automated vehicles on highway infrastructure across four categories — physical infrastructure, traffic control devices, TSMO and ITS systems, and urban multimodal infrastructure — from the perspective of infrastructure owner–operators. The course covers SAE automation levels and operational design domains, AV sensor dependencies on pavement markings and TCDs, platooning effects on pavements and bridges, V2I connectivity and digital infrastructure needs, and near-term readiness strategies by functional road class. Students will develop the technical foundation to evaluate AV-related infrastructure impacts, identify agency preparedness gaps, and apply early readiness strategies to existing design, maintenance, and asset management programs.

Learning Objectives

  1. Define the SAE levels of driving automation and operational design domains and explain how ADAS and ADS technologies interact with physical highway infrastructure elements including pavement markings, traffic signs, signals, work-zone devices, and roadside barriers.

  2. Analyze the impacts of AV deployment on pavement and bridge performance, including the effects of reduced lateral wheel wander, truck platooning dynamic loading, rutting and fatigue life changes, and hydroplaning potential, and describe emerging smart pavement technologies that support AV operations.

  3. Identify TSMO and ITS infrastructure requirements for AV accommodation, including SPaT and MAP data, LED sign refresh rate standards, V2I connectivity challenges, transportation management center data governance, digital infrastructure cybersecurity, and evolving tolling and curb management needs.

  4. Evaluate near-term AV readiness strategies for infrastructure owner–operators by functional road class, including pavement marking uniformity standards from MUTCD Part 5, mode separation for multimodal environments, I2V hardware deployment, and agency organizational and funding preparedness actions.

Notice: Our courses do not yet qualify for PDH credit for engineers licensed in Florida, Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York. Check your state requirements for details.

Course Reading Material

Impacts of Automated Vehicles on Highway Infrastructure

BasePDH  |  Course No. 011  |  3 PDH

Source: FHWA-Sponsored Research

Publisher: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), U.S. Department of Transportation
Supporting references: MUTCD 11th Edition (2023) Part 5, AASHTO Committee on Maintenance, SAE J3016 AV taxonomy

Executive Summary

📌 Reader's note: This document was originally produced for state and local transportation agencies (infrastructure owner–operators). Engineers reading this for PDH credit should orient themselves as the designer, project engineer, or technical lead responsible for specifying, maintaining, or auditing roadway infrastructure that must support AV operations.

This project specifically covers the reported impacts of automated vehicles (AVs) on highway infrastructure. The goal is to provide information to stakeholders as they prepare for the eventual infrastructure evolution driven by the deployment of AVs. This project does not delve into operations or provide policy recommendations, although infrastructure impacts outlined in this document are contingent upon policy and operations decisions. This document attempts to provide infrastructure owner–operators (IOOs) with a list of possible impacts of initial AV deployment on roadway infrastructure and identifies research opportunities based on AV-industry and State and local agency feedback.

⚠️ Note: IOOs include agencies, such as State and local departments of transportation, toll operators, and transit authorities, that own and operate infrastructure used for transportation.

AV development and deployment can be characterized based on the level of automation (SAE Levels) and the operational design domains (ODDs) under which the vehicles can provide automation features. ODDs include roadway type, speed, traffic, and weather conditions. AVs are often described as one generic type of vehicle, but it becomes more complicated when the SAE Levels of Driving Automation are included, as well as specific AV use cases, which are designed for different ODDs interacting with different highway-infrastructure elements. Understanding the layers of complexity provides clarity for understanding how AVs will begin to impact IOOs. Furthermore, acknowledging that certain elements of ODDs are dynamic in nature adds to the complexity and demonstrates the importance of the design and maintenance of specific highway-infrastructure elements. For this research, possible impacts of AVs are based on information for both advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) currently available and operating on roadways (including SAE Level 1 and Level 2), and discussions with automated driving systems (ADS) developers about possible ADS technologies (SAE Levels 3 through Level 5). ADS are still under development and not at a level of maturity to understand fully how the highway infrastructure can support such deployment.

Infrastructure Categories

Several aspects of roadway infrastructure were considered for this study, including the quality and uniformity of traffic control devices (TCDs); changing demands of intelligent transportation system (ITS) devices; structural requirements for pavements and bridges; impacts on multimodal infrastructure (e.g., bike lanes and Complete Streets designs); and potential need for other roadside infrastructure, such as guardrails and communications systems for digital infrastructure.

This documents the impact of AVs on the following infrastructure categories:

  • Physical infrastructure (e.g., pavements, bridges, culverts)
  • TCDs and other roadside infrastructure
  • Transportation systems management and operations (TSMO) and ITS infrastructure
  • Urban multimodal infrastructure

Synthesis of the Literature

This is a developing topic; therefore, published research related specifically to AV impacts on roadway infrastructure is minimal. The following provides the current state of knowledge for each of the four areas of infrastructure review:

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