West Coast, Best Coast

Strip of Electric Highway Open

Science & Tech – The first section of the West Coast’s “Electric Highway” has opened, a move that shows a previously unseen embrace of the electric car.

This piece, a 160 mile expanse of Interstate 5, features 8 electric stations to support electric vehicles, which currently suffer from limited range due to battery limitations. For example, the Nissan Leaf gets roughly 70 miles on the highway with a full charge. Refilling the battery takes approximately 20 minutes, a process that—for the time being—is free.

The completion of this strip of road is the first step in building an infrastructure desperately needed for not only those cars currently on the road but the future of automobile technology. As fuel cost and safety concerns continue to bubble, a vacuum for alternatives has developed (though some may argue it has long been there).

As more expanses of roadway become electric-friendly, the complications of owning one of these environmentally friendly vehicles will lessen. It may also encourage public acceptance, moving the electric car from greeny status symbol to regular, workaday transportation.

Read more at the Associated Press.