Merced County leaders say the $2.1 million expansion of the self-driving car testing site at Castle Commerce Center is now complete after months of construction, signaling the next chapter in the county’s quest to attract the autonomous vehicle industry.
Officials say expansion of the TRC California complex in Atwater creates an environment for vehicle manufacturers and suppliers to test-drive vehicles in a setting that’s similar to urban, rural and highway landscapes.
Among the expansion’s highlights, the testing grounds include a 2.2-mile oval test track, a mile-long city course and two large vehicle dynamics areas.
“The $2.1 million was specifically for development and design, the construction of the oval, as well as some of the internal urban grid features — stoplights, intersections, etc.,” explained Mark Hendrickson, Merced County’s community and economic development director.
While Merced County officials have said there are companies under contract to test at the site, they won’t say who those entities are because of the proprietary nature of the products being developed and tested there.
The only company county officials would confirm is actively testing autonomous vehicles at the Castle Commerce Center is Waymo, which is owned by Google. Waymo still leases and maintains 113 acres of Castle Commerce land, and that’s separate from TRC.
Local officials said the Atwater location is also ideal for technology companies because of its proximity to Silicon Valley.
“There’s a lack of testing facilities in California,” said Mark Mimms, deputy economic development director for Merced County. “TRC as a whole already does have a large impact on the automotive industry, and that’s going to help boost the economy as a whole in Merced County.”
Google, under the name LRC Engineering, signed a lease agreement with Merced County in 2014 to use 60 acres of land at the former Castle Air Force Base.
The leased space was meant to be developed into a closed track for testing self-driving vehicles. An additional 310 acres of space called the California AutoTech Testing and Development Center opened after a $6.5 million grant from the California State Transportation Agency to open just such a testing facility.
“We are actively working with new manufacturers and those in the technology space who have a desire to grow and expand operations in the Western United States, so we are working incredibly hard to highlight Merced County,” Hendrickson said.
County officials haven’t pinpointed the number of jobs related to AV testing that have been created so far. Hendrickson does expect the number of new jobs to pick up in the near future as hiring efforts continue.
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