California is becoming home to the nation's second electric vehicle charging road, with construction expected to be completed ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The multi-million dollar UCLA project will be funded by a state grant and will focus on a half-mile of road in Westwood. According to the Los Angeles Times.
And it comes as the university prepares to host the Olympic Village, where all competitive athletes will stay during the games.
“The wireless guidance option is a game changer,” Clinton Bench, director of UCLA Fleet and Transit, told the Times.
“When a car passed by [a charger]the vehicle can collect electrical charge while driving. ”
The nearly $20 million grant will be used to upgrade UCLA's bus fleet, replacing gasoline-powered vehicles with electric buses.
EV charging roads would eliminate the need for buses to connect to charging coils.
Thanks to several underground charging stations, all electric cars using the road can be charged.
The bus receives charging while driving throughout the day or while parked at a fixed wireless charger.
The coils will be installed under Charles E. Young Drive between the Westwood Plaza intersection and UCLA's Murphy Hall.
Additional stationary chargers are planned at passenger drop-off and pick-up locations and at transit hubs where UCLA buses stop.
Last year, Detroit became the first city in the U.S. to install wireless charging on public roads using the same technology.
