SunTrax's self-driving car test track is taking shape off the Polk Parkway
A large state-run test facility for connected and automated vehicles is being built along the Polk Parkway (SR 570).
The Florida Department of Transportation is building the SunTrax Connected/Automated Vehicle Test Facility, a site for testing connected and automated vehicle technology, along the Polk Parkway (SR 570). The project shows up as FDOT Five-Year Work Program item 437300, with work spread across fiscal years 2023 through 2028.
The work has come in a series of contracts over several years — from the main facility construction awarded to Johnson Bros. Corporation to hardscaping, landscaping, a visual barrier from the Polk Parkway, and toll plaza operations. Several of those contracts are marked complete, while others remain active with estimated completion dates running into 2027.
The largest known contract value tied to the item is about $145.7 million. The records list a mix of vendors and phases rather than a single opening date, so the facility's full completion timeline is not stated as one figure.