Construction is underway on one of the largest driving pads in North Carolina and Beaufort County Community College will celebrate with a groundbreaking ceremony on July 17 at 9 a.m. The ceremony will take place in the site adjacent to the Building 12 parking lot.

Local politicians, first responders, college administration and trustees will break ground on the new asset to Beaufort County. The BCCC Board of Trustees awarded construction of the bond-funded project to B.E. Singleton & Sons on Feb. 28. BCCC will use the public services driving pad, part of its Emergency Training and Workforce Complex, to train emergency medical personnel, firefighters and law enforcement officers earning certifications at the college, as well as from across the state.

BCCC initially proposed the public services driving pad as part of the Connect NC bond referendum in 2016. The driving pad is the largest of the projects that were proposed for bond funding.

The 500-by-600 foot concrete pad will have a 400-by-40 foot pursuit lane and stadium lighting to enable nighttime training. The project includes a stormwater retention pond and will be built on a cotton field on the east side of the BCCC campus between Building 12 and the fire training facility.

Currently BCCC law enforcement students drive to facilities hours away for vehicle training. The college hopes to attract law enforcement, fire, and EMT agencies from across the region to use the pad. EMTs and paramedics must train not only to drive ambulances, but to perform medical procedures while the vehicle is moving.

B.E. Singleton & Sons came in with the lowest bid at $2,641,365, beating out four other competitors. The bid came in $600,000 lower than the college had anticipated. The college hopes to wrap up construction by the end of 2019. The project was designed by Stewart-Cooper-Newell Architects of Gastonia, North Carolina.

“We’re excited to have a local company like B.E. Singleton & Sons help us build this public services driving pad,” said Dr. Dave Loope, BCCC president. “It’s going to put us on the map for EMT, fire and law enforcement training. The people of North Carolina were generous in giving the community colleges the resources they needed to train local residents, and we hope to deliver a facility that they will be proud of.”

B.E. Singleton and Sons, Inc. is a full-service, turnkey site contractor located in Washington, and focused on projects in Eastern North Carolina. They specialize in demolition, grading, storm drainage, water & sewer, erosion control, and concrete and asphalt paving.

The college hopes to use the savings from the driving pad project toward a set of classrooms that will accompany the driving pad. This portion of the Emergency Training and Workforce Complex is still in the design phase.