COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Gov. John Kasich and Ohio State University President Michael Drake announced a $45 million investment for testing driverless cars and other vehicles at the Transportation Research Center.

OSU will invest $25 million to expand the 4,500-acre facility in Logan County.

Kasich plans to include $12.5 million for the project in the state transportation budget.

JobsOhio, the state's private economic development arm, announced it will contribute the rest.

"We are the best testing facility in America. I want to be the best in the world," Kasich said at a Thursday news conference.

The $45 million expansion project was one of several transportation budget initiatives Kasich highlighted Thursday. Kasich also will propose funding to make I-90 from I-271 to the Pennsylvania state line a "smart corridor" to test autonomous driving.

The transportation budget will also include authorizing the Ohio Department of Transportation to change speed limits and use highway shoulders as additional traffic lanes during peak rush hour times.

The Transportation Research Center is able to test cars, trucks, buses and other vehicles in real-world situations, road conditions and types of weather. Kasich and other officials praised the center for its work testing autonomous vehicles, which don't require a person to drive them.

The $45 million expansion will include industry's largest high-speed intersection, roundabouts traffic lights and a smart control center. Future phases of the expansion include an indoor, all-season facility and a six-lane high-speed highway.

"Day or night, good weather or bad weather, high speed or rural -- we'll be able to test what's going on there," Ohio Department of Transportation Director Jerry Wray said. "What rolls out of there will roll around Ohio, around the country and around the world."