Federal transportation officials named the San Diego region one of 10 proving grounds for autonomous vehicles, making the announcement Jan. 19.
Tests will be conducted in three places: the Interstate 15 express lanes, the South Bay Expressway and the city streets of Chula Vista.
It will be the only proving ground in Southern California and one of two on the West Coast. The Transportation Department also tapped a site in the San Francisco Bay Area, GoMentum Station in Contra Costa County.
“This is great news for the San Diego region,” County Supervisor Ron Roberts said in a statement distributed by SANDAG, the local transportation and planning agency. “We are at the start of a new transportation era, and it’s tremendously exciting for our region to be part of a national initiative to foster innovations and best practices that will enable the safe deployment of driverless vehicles.”
Sixty communities applied for the designation.
SANDAG, Caltrans and the City of Chula Vista jointly submitted the application to the federal government for the designation. The application received support from major auto manufacturers and technology companies, including Toyota, Qualcomm, Teradata and Denso International America Inc.
