A deep dive into the ITS industry with Kirk Steudle

Kirk Steudle brings a truly 360-degree perspective on the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) industry—from his years as Director of the Michigan Department of Transportation (2006–2018), to his current role as an independent consultant providing no-strings-attached insights.

Steudle remains deeply engaged in transformative projects. He is involved in the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) “Moonshot Project,” which explores collective and individual state actions toward a unified national transportation strategy.

He also commends Georgia’s forward-thinking public-private model for fiber-optic deployment alongside major highways—where the DOT funds the installation and then owns part of the network, while private contractors handle the rest via a finance-build-maintain-operate structure.


Kirk Steudle (Credit:Traffic Technology Today)

Another bold development: Texas is advancing an autonomous trucking corridor between Houston and Dallas on I-45—an ambitious project focused on safety, freight efficiency, and real-time notification technologies.

As ITS World Congress lands in Atlanta, Steudle believes that projects like The Ray’s solar-powered highway infrastructure will shine even brighter—bringing inspiration to the broader ITS community and reinforcing the role of innovative, reusable infrastructure models.

For the full interview, visit Traffic Technology Today.