Electric avenue: LA getting car-charging road ahead of 2028 Olympics

California is about to become home to the nation’s second electric vehicle-charging roadway — with construction due to be completed ahead of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.The multimillion dollar UCLA project, funded with state grant moneys, will concentrate on a half-mile stretch of road in Westwood, according to the Los Angeles Times.And it will come as the university prepares to host the Olympic Village — where all of the competing athletes stay during the games.“A wireless inductive option is a game changer,” Clinton Bench, director of the UCLA Fleet and Transit, told the Times.“When a vehicle is driving over [a charger], the vehicle can collect charge while it’s moving.” Close to $20 million in grant money will be used to upgrade UCLA‘s bus fleet, replacing gas-powered vehicles with electric buses.

The EV-charging roadway will eliminate the need to connect any of the buses to electric charging coils.Any electric vehicle that utilizes the roadway will be able to pick up a charge, thanks to several underground charging stations.The buses would pick up charge while driving throughout the day or when parked at a stationary wireless charger.

The coils will be installed beneath Charles E.Young Drive, between the Westwood Plaza intersection and UCLA’s Murphy Hall.

Additional stationary chargers are planned for passenger drop-off and pickup locations and transit depots where UCLA buses make stops.Last year, Detroit utilized the same technology to become the first city to create a wireless-charging public roadway in the US....