The U.S. Department of Transportation picked 10 official sites for developing and testing self-driving car technology, one of the last actions the agency made under the leadership of former U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.
The DOT made the announcement Thursday, Foxx’s last day as secretary. On Friday, Donald Trump was sworn in as president and a new administration took over.
The 10 proving ground pilot sites are meant to encourage testing and information sharing around automated vehicle technologies. Designees were selected from a competitive group of more than 60 applicants, according to the agency.
The locations are:
- City of Pittsburgh and the Thomas D. Larson Pennsylvania Transportation Institute
- Texas AV Proving Grounds Partnership
- U.S. Army Aberdeen Test Center
- American Center for Mobility (ACM) at Willow Run
- Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) & GoMentum Station
- San Diego Association of Governments
- Iowa City Area Development Group
- University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Central Florida Automated Vehicle Partners
- North Carolina Turnpike Authority
The test sites are spread throughout the U.S., with locations on both coasts and the Midwest. It’s notable that Arizona, where a number of companies such as Ford, Google’s Waymo, and GM-owned Cruise Automation are currently testing on public roads, is omitted from the list.
One of the proving grounds is the American Center for Mobility at Willow Run, a former manufacturing site where Ford built the B-24 Liberator bomber during World War II and General Motors made more than 5 million vehicle transmissions.
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The American Center for Mobility, an organization formed in April 2016, plans to develop and operate the new driverless car testing site. Michigan is also home to “M City,” a 23-acre mini-city at the University of Michigan built for testing driverless car technology.
The state has become one of the most permissive for testing self-driving vehicles. Last month, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder signed a package of automaker-backed bills that allow testing of vehicles without steering wheels, pedals, or needed human control—an important allowance that aims to propel Michigan ahead of California, a hotbed of driverless car development.