CORE OBJECTIVE 7: CREATE TRANSPORTATION CHOICES

SELF-DRIVING VEHICLE TESTING FACILITY PLANNED FOR WESTMORELAND COUNTY

Over the last twenty years, significant advancements have been made in the connected and autonomous vehicle sector. What once seemed like a science fiction dream, autonomous vehicles have become very much a part of reality today. From advanced driver assistance systems to fully-automated driving systems, this technology has the potential to improve safety, increase mobility, and enhance efficiency and convenience. These advances in technology also lend themselves to creating more transportation choices for people, which is a goal outlined in the county’s comprehensive plan, Reimagining Our Westmoreland

Thanks to a public-private partnership, this technology is set to be explored close to home in Westmoreland County, bringing with it the possibility of attracting new companies, jobs, residents, and the power to advance our region.

In 2022, Pennsylvania Safety Transportation and Research Track (PennSTART), a $20 million facility designed for the testing, research, and demonstration of self-driving vehicles, was announced to be built at the Regional Industrial Development Corporation (RIDC) site in East Huntingdon Township. The project is being made possible, thanks to a partnership between RIDC, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC). The firstof-its-kind facility in Pennsylvania will feature a 3-mile test track and other facilities for companies that build and test self-driving vehicles to lease and use.

In the future, automated vehicles will influence how people are connected to places, how transportation systems are upgraded, and how land use decisions are made. Making sure that these advancements are safe, reliable, and help improve our communities is of the utmost importance. According to Yassmin Gramian, Secretary at PennDOT, the PennSTART facility will provide innovative technologies for testing and education. “As highway safety and transportation technologies advance, our teams, first responders, students, and researchers should also be learning about these tools,” said Gramian.

The goal of PennSTART is to address safety training and research needs in six key areas including traffic incident management (TIM); tolling and intelligent transportation systems (ITS) technology; work zones; commercial vehicles; transit vehicles; and connected and autonomous vehicles.

The facility, which is expected to be completed as early as 2024, will help support and advance transportation technology companies, research and education institutions, and emergency responders. The types of technologies that could be tested for safety, operations, and training purposes at the facility include:

• TIM training;

• Testing and hands-on training for new ITS, tolling, and signal equipment;

• Safe, simulated training for higher-speed and mobile work-zone operations;

• Safety certification training opportunities;

• Simulated environments for temporary traffic control device testing and evaluation;

• Smart truck-parking applications and other opportunities for commercial vehicle technology partnerships; and

• Controlled environments to test various AVs and other emerging technologies for transit buses, infrastructure equipment, and other applications.

The new facility also has the potential to build off of an already established autonomous technology sector that exists within the region. Thanks to the work of Pittsburgh-based companies like Locomation, Aurora, and Argo AI (now Ford’s Lattitude AI), Southwestern Pennsylvania has a number of talented leaders working at the forefront of autonomous vehicle technology.

“Our region already has a thriving cluster of autonomous technology companies and is one of the national leaders in the development of driverless vehicles,” said Donald F. Smith, Jr., President of RIDC. “Southwestern Pennsylvania has a long history of successful public-private partnerships to advance our region, and we are gratified to be able to partner with PennDOT and the Turnpike Commission to develop this project as a regional asset that will continue to attract companies, jobs, and investment,” said Smith.

According to Jason Rigone, Executive Director of the Westmoreland County Industrial Development Corporation, the addition of the PennSTART facility can drive momentum in the region and foster economic, technological, and employment opportunities for Westmoreland County. “We look forward to seeing the positive economic impacts of this project and applaud the public-private partnership that made PennSTART possible. The Westmoreland County community only stands to benefit from the research and technology of this facility,” said Rigone.