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Members of the Ohio Congressional delegation are applauding the announcement by the Department of Transportation that the Transportation Research Center in East Liberty will be on equal footing with other Autonomous Vehicle (AV) testing sites when seeking Federal funding opportunities or other Federal support. Despite being a world-class facility, the TRC was inexplicability left off of a list of 10 “proving ground pilot sites” compiled in the final hours of the Obama Administration. Congressmen Bob Latta, Jim Jordan, Bill Johnson, Bob Gibbs, Warren Davidson, and David Joyce have all raised concerns about TRC being left off of this designation.

The DOT’s action comes after members of the delegation sent a letter asking that TRC either be included as a “proving ground pilot site” or that Federal resources not be dependent on obtaining official pilot site status. In a report to Congress, the DOT says that, “any Federal funding opportunities or other Federal support or recognition authorized by Congress for AV-related test sites for demonstration projects should be made available on a competitive basis to potential recipients in all locations with active research and testing programs.”

“The Department of Transportation’s announcement is great news for Ohio and the United States,” said the Congressmen. “The TRC is a world-class facility, is already up and running, and will soon be the largest AV testing ground in the world. Limiting its ability to access Federal resources or support made no sense, and we applaud the DOT for making the right decision to put the facility on equal footing with other testing sites when making competitive bids. The TRC is succeeding because of its unique partnership between the Ohio State University, DriveOhio, the state of Ohio, and the private sector.”

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