TEEX opens new Public Safety Training Center on Monday

The Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service opened its new 86-acre Public Service Training Center in Bryan Monday with a ribbon cutting ceremony, explosive display and demonstrations of the center's capabilities.

The PSTC was completed in under a year at a cost of $25.3 million.

Guests and visitors were able to ride along with TEEX instructors in modified police cruisers that will be used on the test track to train the next generation of law enforcement officers who come through the Central Texas Police Academy, which will maintain a presence on the new complex.

TEEX Agency Director David Coatney is excited for what the new facility will mean for TEEX but there was one thing he would have loved to have on Monday with the new training track waiting to be used.

"That drive track is pretty attractive to me. I just wish I had a sports car," Coatney told the Eagle before the ribbon cutting ceremony. "Having an area where police officers can train in different maneuvering techniques, not just always using cones and having a track to be able to follow. There's a lot of value in that we can do commercial driving out here in a controlled environment."

Among the other amenities of the new complex, located at the south end of the RELLIS campus, is an urban grid that simulates a city environment that can be used for electric power training, commercial driving training and other uses.

The complex also includes upgraded classrooms and laboratory spaces as well as skill pads for police and motorcycle training. It is hoped that the complex will become a place where multiple agencies can come together and train together before they work together in real world events.

"There are a lot of people that are involved that are going to be training out here," Texas A&M University System Chancellor Glenn Hegar told the Eagle after the ribbon cutting ceremony. "We are stepping the game up to make sure that training is not in silos, training is in a location bringing a cross section of those first responders, the linemen, all the people, the drivers together to a place because rapid response is important. When there is a crisis you want those who are trained to be responding."

On Monday afternoon visitors could tour the new classroom building and watch a demonstration of line workers demonstrating their skills high on an electric pole with a bucket truck.

The PSTC will become the home of the TEEX Lineworker Academy.

All of the things TEEX does can be learned at the PSTC including heavy equipment training.

"This facility represents a shared commitment to excellence in public safety. We owe a debt to our first responders. The men and women who run toward imminent danger," Representative Paul Dyson (R-Bryan) said in his remarks before the ribbon cutting ceremony. "We owe it to them to give every possible advantage before they ever set food on the field. You don't want a police officer practicing high-speed maneuvers for the first time on a wet suburban street. You don't want a line worker navigating a high-voltage crisis during a midnight storm without having seen it before."

PSTC's location at the south end of the RELLIS Campus represents an expansion of the services available to the numerous agencies under the Texas A&M University System umbrella as well as outside groups who will be able to use the new facility.

The PSTC will also provide training opportunities in Unmanned Aerial Systems flight training, all-terrain vehicle operations and cell tower rescue operations.

"Our feeling about training is it has to be realistic, relevant and impactful. This campus allows it to be that way," Coatney said. "This campus allows it to be that way but not just that way for one discipline. When you look at public safety disicplines they tend to train in [their own] silo. This campus allows us to train the way we respond. In a blended training formate where we can all understand what its like to work closely with one another."

Law Enforcement training won't just be limited to police patrol tactics. The facility will also provide space for training in crime scene investigation and processing as well as unexploded ordnance identification and safe handling.

The location will have virtual simulators set up so training can be done without the risk of damage to real world equipment. One of the simulators available for visitors to try out was the Heavy Equipment Simulator where people could try their hand at operating either a virtual skid steer or a virtual bulldozer. The simulator also provided a score for the driver at the end of their run so they could see what things needed to be improved.

Before the opening of the PSTC on TEEX had to use the runway at RELLIS for all of its different vehicular training. Now they have a place where they don't have to compete with other agencies for use of a training area. The new PSTC is even big enough for other agencies to use it if they need too. Having the new PSTC is part of the growth of RELLIS to continue to be a place of collaboration.

"RELLIS is on a trajectory of bringing things together, whether that's a cross section of research, our services, industry sectors all in one hub and one location," Hegar told the Eagle after the ribbon cutting. "There's a lot more opportunities for industry that's going to built out here, different projects that we plan. I think what we will look like in five years will be substantially different and have a significant impact to the people of the state of Texas."

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This story was originally published May 12, 2026 at 9:43 AM.