In 2017, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) hired Bergeron Land Development to construct the SunTrax Test Facility in Polk County, Florida.

SunTrax, a state-of-the-art transportation technology testing facility, is the result of a long-term partnership between FDOT and Florida Polytechnic University. According to the FDOT, the creation of this facility will establish Florida as a transportation technology leader and create a high-tech hub for the research, development and testing of emerging transportation technologies related to tolling, intelligent transportation systems (ITS) and automated and connected vehicles.

The facility was constructed on a 400-acre site centrally located between Tampa and Orlando within the city of Auburndale and adjacent to the Polk Parkway, just north of Braddock Road.

The centerpiece of the project is the 2.25 mile, bi-directional track.  Bergeron Land Development was responsible for all the labor, materials, equipment and incidentals necessary to construct the oval track with adjacent straightaways extending into turnaround areas on each side of the oval track.

Bergeron also constructed two toll equipment buildings and the associated toll gantries on each side of the track for a total of four toll equipment buildings and four toll gantries.

Bergeron was also responsible for constructing an entrance road from Braddock Road to the infield area of the track. The entrance road crosses under the oval track through a three-sided box culvert. The entrance road provides access to the Operations and Storage Buildings. The project also includes Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), landscaping, and lighting.

The project required 1 million cubic yards of earthwork and the construction of two 30-ft-high retaining walls and two detention ponds to support the track.  Bergeron Land Development was able to overcome 56 weather days and impacts from multiple hurricanes to complete the $46-million project 270 days ahead of schedule.

The SunTrax project, especially Bergeron Land Development’s contributions have been recognized with the following awards.

In September of 2020, the SunTrax testing and research facility won the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association’s (IBTTA) 2020 President’s Award for Excellence.

In August of 2020, SunTrax Phase I received a Regional Award from Southern Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (SASHTO)

In August 2019, Bergeron Land Development received the Best in Construction Special Significance Award by the Florida Transportation Builders Association

Also in August of 2019, Bergeron Land development received the Merit in the Specialty Construction Project category from ENR Southeast.