By Matthew Peddie, WMFE
The Florida Department of Transportation is building a test track in a pasture in Polk County. The track is roughly the size of the Daytona International Speedway, and while the vehicles won’t quite get up to Dale Earnhardt Jr. speeds on the two and a quarter mile track, they’ll still be able to hit speeds of 70 mph. Paul Satchfield, Program Management Administrator with Florida Turnpike Enterprise, explains that’s fast enough to test out new toll technology. And he says the facility will be used to research automated and connected vehicles.