California's proposed bullet train between Los Angeles and San Francisco—which Gov. Jerry Brown is likely to sign off on soon—has been characterized by the Obama administration and its other supporters as an effective way to reduce highway congestion. These costs amount to more than $100 billion annually in wasted time and higher fuel expenses.

In fact, a much better technological solution is on the horizon, if we pave the way by getting rid of obsolete highway design. It is already possible to imagine a world in which you could predict exactly how long it would take to drive in your car from one point to another. No worries about rush hour, vacation congestion, bad drivers, speed traps and accidents. You could also text while you drive with no safety implications.

All this may be possible thanks to a "driverless" car that does a human driver's normal job and much more. The car is operated by a computer that obtains information 10 times per second from short-range transmitters on surrounding road conditions, including where other cars are and what they are doing.

That's exponentially faster than the human mind can process the same information. By gathering and reacting immediately to real-time information, the technology can drastically reduce highway fatalities by preventing collisions. It also can significantly reduce delays by creating a smoother traffic flow and rerouting drivers who have programmed their destinations.

Google's version is being piloted in Nevada, and it could prove that faster, reliable and safer road travel is within reach. But one stumbling block would remain: the government-run roads this innovation must use. Auto makers have made one technological improvement after another since the car was introduced to consumers more than a century ago. Unfortunately, the paved road systems on which cars travel have not advanced much in comparison. Without reimagining the way we design and maintain highways, the driverless car will achieve little of its potential.