The state of Michigan and some private partners are taking steps toward building or assigning dedicated lanes for automated vehicles on a 40-mile (65-kilometer) stretch of highway between Detroit and Ann Arbor. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and other state officials announced the project Thursday afternoon near a former railroad station that Ford is renovating to house its autonomous vehicle operations in downtown Detroit. Ford is among nine autonomous vehicle and auto companies on an advisory board for the project. “What may be the world’s most sophisticated roadway will be built here in Michigan — to help increase the safety, efficiency, resilience and operations of roadways in the not-so-distant future,” Whitmer said. Organizers say the project will begin with a two-year study to figure out whether existing lanes or shoulders could be used or new lanes need to be built, and that it is the first of […]