Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC) Managing Director Dennis Kolar praised Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s Dec. 11 order that flags be lowered to half-staff in honor of former U.S. Representative Bob Carr, who died in August.
Carr, who worked in the Michigan Attorney General’s Office before running for office, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1974, representing parts of Ingham, Livingston, Genesee and Oakland counties. He served in the House until 1995, with one term out of office (1981 to 1983). During his years in the House, Rep. Carr served on the powerful Ways and Means, Transportation and Appropriations committees, among others.
An outspoken supporter of transportation infrastructure, Rep. Carr obtained numerous federal transportation grants for RCOC, including millions of dollars to fund the first phases of RCOC’s high-tech adaptive traffic signal system in the early 1990s. At the time, the system, which is known as Faster and Safer Travel through Traffic Routing and Advanced Controls (FAST-TRAC), was the first adaptive signal system in the nation.
FAST-TRAC, still one of the most advanced traffic-signal systems in the nation, uses traffic detectors to determine traffic volumes and patterns, which allow computers at intersections to determine the most efficient signal timing for the traffic present, in real time, thus maximizing signal efficiency, reducing traffic delays and improving safety.
- “Thanks to the grants obtained by Congressman Carr, we were able to implement the first ‘smart’ traffic-signal system in the nation, and prove that the technology was beneficial,” Kolar stated. “As a result of the success of the FAST-TRAC system, this technology is now in place in many locations around the country.”
Carr was also instrumental in bringing home federal road-funding grants for more traditional road projects as well. He secured grants for projects such as widening sections of Baldwin Road in Auburn Hills and Walton Boulevard in Rochester Hills in the 1990s, as well as a number of other projects.
“Congressman Carr was critical to many significant road improvements during the time that he served in Washington,” Kolar said. “Oakland County owes a debt of gratitude to Bob Carr, and we join Governor Whitmer in honoring his legacy.”
