Chao is the wife of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Jr. of Kentucky. Her visit is scheduled for 11:30 a.m.
“She is coming here because Ohio is quickly becoming a model for the rest of the country on how to use smart transportation to help create economic growth and expand opportunity,” Portman said in a news release. “TRC Ohio is playing a big role in that.”
The 40-year-old, 4,500-acre facility, located near Honda, is used by governments and companies to test vehicles under a variety of road conditions, terrain and situations.
Earlier this year Ohio Gov. John Kasich, JobsOhio and Ohio State University announced they will partner on a $45 million first phase of a “state of the art hub” for testing automated and autonomous vehicle technology to be built at the TRC.
The new 450-acre Smart Mobility Advanced Research and Test Center would be built on the grounds of the existing facility.
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