Intersection: Turning A Pasture Into A Test Track

SunTrax is being built on a 400 acre site in Polk County. Photo: 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.
Get The 90.7 WMFE Newsletter
Your trusted news source for the latest Central Florida news, updates on special programs and more.
GET THE LATEST

WMFE Journalistic Ethics Code | Public Media Code of Integrity