Exclusive: Cavnue to create smart freight corridor near Savannah port

• Longer term, the technology is intended to usher in a new era of automated freight movement.

The big picture: Ports are busier than ever, but the roads connecting them haven't changed in decades.

• As the Georgia Ports Authority begins a $1.9 billion master plan to expand capacity to meet growing demand in Savannah, traffic problems are likely to worsen.

Between the lines: The Savannah project is Cavnue's third smart highway.

• The Washington, D.C.-based subsidiary of Alphabet-backed Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners is building a similar intelligent freight corridor in Texas, and is preparing to extend its original smart highway on I-94 in Michigan.
• Cavnue's platform combines roadside hardware — sensors, computing and advanced communications equipment — with intelligent software to provide agencies with real-time data and insights about traffic, weather, debris and other road conditions.
• Cavnue is partnering with another company, Haas Alert, to share that information with approaching vehicles, giving drivers critical extra seconds to react and reduce crashes.

• Haas' Safety Cloud alerts are available today in Jeep, Dodge, RAM, Chrysler, and Volkswagen vehicles, as well as through navigation apps like Waze.

The bottom line: Better insights on road conditions can help avoid accidents and improve efficiency, especially in congested areas like the Port of Savannah.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify that Cavnue parent Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners is backed (not owned) by Alphabet.