Trucking news and briefs for Wednesday, April 10, 2024:
Purdue University professor John Haddock and graduate student Oscar Moncada examine a slab of concrete pavement they tested to handle heavy truckloads with wireless power-transfer technology installed below the surface. The machine behind them is designed to imitate those loads by repeatedly passing half a loaded semi-truck axle across the concrete slab.Photo provided by Consensus Digital Media
The Indiana Department of Transportation is partnering with Purdue University and Cummins to build what they call the United States' first-of-its-kind segment of roadway that can charge both heavy-duty and passenger electric vehicles as they travel at highway speeds.
Following multiple years of in-depth research and testing, a pilot segment will be constructed on U.S. 231/U.S. 52 between Cumberland Avenue and Lindberg Road in West Lafayette, near INDOT's West Lafayette Subdistrict office.
Installation of the dynamic wireless power transfer test site began early this month. Drivers may experience a right lane closure on the westbound lanes as crews remove pavement.
Construction is expected to continue through the Fall, weather permitting. Additional work is expected to last until May of 2025.
The quarter-mile test bed will be used to test how well a patent-pending system designed by Purdue engineers can provide power to a heavy-duty electric truck traveling at highway speeds.
