KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Lenexa will take the first step toward bringing smart technology to some of the roadways in its downtown City Center.

The Lenexa City Council approved a memorandum of understanding Tuesday between the city and Integrated Roadways, a Kansas City, Missouri-based company that has proposed an $8.5 million plan to install “smart pavement” around the Lenexa City Center.

Lenexa City Center is a multi-phase, mixed-use redevelopment of the city's downtown area off Interstate 435 at 87th Street and Renner Boulevard.

The technology, which would include sensors and networking built into the roadway, would collect data in real time.

Lenexa would be the first city to have this major smart infrastructure installation. Integrated Roadways installed a scaled-down version in Denver last year.

Now that the council has approved the first step, the city will begin to create specific license agreements for each location within City Center where the pavement will be installed, according to a spokeswoman for the city.

City officials told 41 Action News last week that it hopes the one-of-a-kind technology will help the city to become an entrepreneurial hub.

Tim Sylvester, founder of Integrated Roadways, said the technology will not be used to collect or record personal information about vehicles or drivers.