NEW TECHNOLOGY INSTALLED BENEATH DETROIT STREET CAN CHARGE ELECTRIC VEHICLES AS THEY DRIVE

Crews have installed what’s billed as the nation’s first wireless-charging public roadway for electric vehicles beneath a street just west of downtown Detroit.

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Copper inductive charging coils allow vehicles equipped with receivers to charge up their batteries while driving, idling or parking above the coils.

The quarter-mile segment of 14th Street will be used to test and perfect the technology ahead of making it available to the public within a few years, according to the Michigan Department of Transportation.

Demonstrations were held this week at Michigan Central innovation district, a hub for advancing technologies and programs that address barriers to mobility. The district also is where Ford Motor Co. is restoring the old Michigan Central train station to develop self-driving vehicles.