In a unanimous and enthusiastic vote on Tuesday, the Merced County (California) Board of Supervisors put the official stamp of approval on a contract that local officials say will put local autonomous vehicle testing “on the map for all the right reasons.”

The move finalized a long-awaited contract with the Transportation Research Center Inc. Effective immediately, TRC will begin taking over self-driving vehicle testing operations at the former Castle Air Force Base in Atwater…

Dubbed the California AutoTech Testing and Development Center (CATDC), county officials have touted Castle’s proximity to Silicon Valley and expansive open space as a boon for tech companies like Google that have used the facility to test self-driving vehicles for some years…

The county commenced the search for a the right industry expert in October, ultimately settling on TRC as the best company for the job. The Ohio-based corporation operates the largest autonomous vehicle research and development testing facility in the U.S.
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