YPSILANTI (WKZO-AM)— A historic site in Ypsilanti is about to become a big part of Michigan’s future as the state scrambles to make sure that the future of the auto industry does not drive off to Silicon Valley or some other state.
It will become the world’s largest test site for automated cars and trucks, and possibly even airplanes.
The former airport and industrial site has three hundred acres of paved surface for self-driving cars to wander around. It has an abandoned cloverleaf that can simulate highway conditions and it has something that Silicon Valley cannot duplicate, winter driving conditions.
That’s why Governor Rick Snyder has invested state money and gotten 44 other firms to sign on to the creation of the American Center for Mobility at the site of the Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti.
It was once part of the “arsenal of democracy”, turning out bombers for WW-II. It was also a GM Plant site until the Great Recession.
From now on it will be the epicenter of “Planet M” the state’s campaign to keep future automotive development in Michigan. They broke ground this week, and it could be operational by December of next year.
