Pennsylvania announced the start of construction on PennSTART, a closed-loop testing facility intended to support the development of emerging transportation technologies. The total investment from all sources in the project’s first phase is $25 million.

“As technologies change, the ways that drivers and first responders interact with transportation infrastructure change as well,” Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Secretary Mike Carroll said in a news release. “PennSTART will be the testing ground for next-gen innovations designed to make our roads safer and more connected.”

The facility is expected to serve as a national hub for advancing transportation technology and workforce training in areas that include connected vehicles, traffic management and autonomous systems.

Phase one will include a high-speed test track along with a multi-purpose area that can be configured for a range of testing needs. Future phases are planned to add signalized and unsignalized intersections, as well as simulated urban and rural environments.

PennSTART will support testing and training for connected and automated vehicles, commercial and transit vehicles, off-road and aerial vehicles, field robotics and traffic-incident management. The facility will also support tolling, intelligent transportation systems and traffic signal research.

In addition, the Regional Industrial Development Corporation’s Westmoreland site in Mount Pleasant will provide hands-on training for the state’s 54,000 first responders.