Visitors to the Monterey Peninsula this summer may be unwittingly participating in an AI experiment to determine how fast or slow they arrive at their destination.<\/p>\n
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It is a big bet that county transportation officials, in conjunction with Caltrans, are making: an AI signal system pilot program that could eliminate the need for roundabouts along the same corridor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This week, Caltrans launched the AI signal program<\/a> along the storied Highway 68 corridor, which connects the farmlands of Salinas to the ocean shores of Monterey and acts as the main feeder into the area from Highway 101. Adaptive traffic signals are now live between the heavily trafficked 9-mile stretch from San Benancio Road to Josselyn Canyon Road.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The change isn\u2019t visible to the human eye, but whether traffic flows better during the height of the oncoming busy season should be very apparent to all who attempt to navigate their way to their destination, local transit officials said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe put it in this week, so it\u2019s in play now,\u201d Doug Bilse, the principal engineer for the Transportation Agency for Monterey County, told\u00a0SFGATE on Wednesday. \u201cIt went live on Tuesday, yesterday. We were analyzing it yesterday, and there\u2019s still some bugs to work out, but it was working. It\u2019s a work in progress. It\u2019s a pilot project we\u2019ll be evaluating for five years.\u201d<\/p>\n Traffic in Monterey, Calif., on Aug. 20, 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n Brandon Woyshnis\/Getty Images<\/p>\n The program deploys adaptive traffic signals, traffic lights that use a combination of AI and sensors that determine and automatically adjust to the current flows of traffic.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Make SFGATE a preferred source so your search results prioritize writing by actual people, not AI.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Bilse said that the timing for the program\u2019s start \u2014 on the cusp of the busy summer travel season \u2014 is by design. \u201cIn a couple weeks when school lets out, when Laguna Seca has an event or anything unexpected happens, that\u2019s where adaptive shines,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Federal Highway Administration<\/a> pitches the technology as a solution to an age-old traffic signal problem: \u201cWait, go, stop, wait, wait some more; most drivers have spent time fuming at red lights,\u201d the agency\u2019s site reads. \u201c … Why don\u2019t traffic lights adjust to actual conditions?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cImplementation of the ATSC system comes after months of field testing and calibration which helped build the model for the new system,\u201d Caltrans stated in an announcement<\/a> on the program\u2019s launch.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n In March 2025, the Transportation Agency for Monterey County\u2019s board of directors approved the Adaptive Traffic Signal Control Pilot Project with the five-year pilot program.\u00a0<\/p>\n The GTP Start at the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca during the\u00a0IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship\u00a0in Salinas, Calif., on May 3, 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n Brandon Badraoui\/Lumen\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Many were eager to see this plan in motion as both a cost- and time-saving alternative to the potential installation of roundabouts.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf we can save 200 million ultimately by not doing roundabouts, by spending a million dollars or whatever for nine AI [signals], I would like to find out as soon as possible if AI works,\u201d Bruce Delgado, a board member and mayor of the city of Marina, told Caltrans officials at the time of the decision to approve the program.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201c[It] seems like a really good way to spend money,\u201d he continued.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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