Shapiro Administration Breaks Ground on PennSTART Vehicle Testing Facility in Westmoreland County, Creating National Hub for Innovation in Western Pennsylvania
Shapiro Administration Breaks Ground on PennSTART Vehicle Testing Facility in Westmoreland County, Creating National Hub for Innovation in Western Pennsylvania
PennSTART will not only serve as a training facility for Pennsylvania’s 54,000 first responders, but a national hub for emerging technology and economic opportunity.
The Shapiro Administration continues to cut red tape and streamline permitting and licensing to drive innovation in Pennsylvania.
Mount Pleasant, PA – Today, the Shapiro Administration announced the start of construction on PennSTART, a closed loop testing facility designed to accelerate innovation in emerging transportation technology. The facility is another example of the Administration’s commitment to investing in Pennsylvania’s future and advancing the Commonwealth position as a national leader in emerging technologies.
“PennSTART reflects many of the Office of Transformation and Opportunity’s core values—it’s collaborative, forward-looking and will make Pennsylvania more competitive in the growing field of autonomous vehicles,” said Chief Transformation Officer Ben Kirshner. “My team is proud to support PennSTART through our PA Permit Fast Track program.”
The total investment from all sources in the first phase of the project is $25 million and includes funding from Regional Industrial Development Corporation (RIDC), PennDOT, PA Turnpike, the Hillman Foundation, and Pennsylvania’s Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP). Planning began after the concept was recommended in the Forefront Report sponsored by RIDC and the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce in 2021, and is now breaking ground thanks to the Governor’s Office of Transformation and Opportunity’s (OTO ) Fast Track program, which is overseeing the project’s permitting.
“As technologies change, the ways that drivers and first responders interact with transportation infrastructure change as well,” said PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll. “PennSTART will be the testing ground for next-gen innovations designed to make our roads safer and more connected.”
PennSTART will not only serve local users but will position southwestern Pennsylvania as a national hub for the development of emerging technology and economic opportunity, advancing transportation technology and training across key sectors such as connected vehicles, traffic management, and autonomous technologies.
The first phase of the PennSTART facility will include a high-speed test track and a dynamic, multi-purpose area for customized use. Future phases for the project will include signalized and unsignalized intersections and urban and rural environment approximations to maximize test conditions.
PennSTART will serve entities testing and training with connected and automated vehicles and autonomous technologies; commercial and transit vehicles; off-road and aerial vehicles; field robotics; and traffic incident management, tolling, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and traffic signals. Additionally, the RIDC Westmoreland site in Mount Pleasant will offer training outside of the classroom at a state-of-the-art facility for Pennsylvania’s 54,000 first responders.
“Having a facility like PennSTART that provides real-world incident management training for first responders is game changing,” said PA Turnpike CEO Mark Compton. “We are excited to be able to move beyond the classroom to effectively prepare police, fire, medical, and towing personnel for the dangers they encounter during an incident – like distracted or aggressive drivers. Through collaboration with all agencies, we will have successful incident management – and in return, enhanced safety and improved emergency response for our first responders and traveling public.”
More information on this project can be found on the PennSTART webpage.
Motorists can check conditions on major roadways by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information and access to more than 1,200 traffic cameras. 511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional X alerts.
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MEDIA CONTACTS:
Zachary Appleby, zappleby@pa.gov or 717-409-3840
Marissa Orbanek, morbanek@paturnpike.com or 267-408-5151