The Florida Department of Transportation’s Florida Turnpike Enterprise (FTE) and Florida Poly have committed to a long-term partnership to construct a new transportation technology testing facility, SunTrax. This testing site includes a 2.25-mile, oval track on a 400-acre site in Polk County, centrally located between Tampa and Orlando. The facility will be adjacent to FTE’s Polk Parkway (SR 540) just two miles south of the Florida Poly campus. Design of the initial phase has been completed including an innovative toll testing facility replicating limited access conditions for high speed testing of tolling, and AV technologies. The oval track includes infrastructure such as shelters, buildings, gantry structures, and a variety of mounting locations for road side units and tolling equipment. The facility was designed around multiple scenarios such as single lane, multiple lanes, and parallel toll and express lanes. The facility offers an opportunity for national and international certification for AV and tolling technologies. This project will be advertised for construction in February 2017, and construction is expected to last for 18 months. SunTrax will be open for testing in the fall 2018. Design, construction, construction engineering, and inspection funds have already been appropriated and committed in FDOT’s current work program fiscal year. The total construction value is estimated at $51 million. The project is unique in that it creates a symbiotic relationship between government agencies and educational resources. Not only will data and test results be generated, but the next generation of professionals are receiving hands-on training in the AV laboratory space.
The 200-acre infield of the track will be dedicated to controlled automated and connected vehicle (CV) testing for arterial environments. The infield will be developed with Florida Poly, allowing researchers to rigorously construct testing parameters on track infrastructure. This approach will also offer a unique opportunity for knowledge transfer as students and faculty design, oversee construction, test, and share findings of these technologies. Anticipated features include a learning laboratory, simulated city center, suburban and rural roadways, interconnected signalized intersections, interchange ramps, roundabouts, and various pavement surfaces. Areas of research include safety standards for environment, vehicular and pedestrian safety impacts, data management, cyber security, and equipment quality. This facility will provide a controlled and safe environment for testing these emerging technologies before they are deployed in live traffic. Furthermore, SunTrax is strategically positioned outside of urban areas with hundreds of acres of land available for development, allowing private entities to setup their own facilities adjacent to the SunTrax test facility