Savannah Technical College celebrated the opening of its new Liberty Commercial Truck Driving Range at the Liberty Campus (100 Technology Drive, Hinesville, Ga., 31313). The new Driving Range has a closer proximity to Liberty Campus and will have space for more truck maneuvers, yielding larger classes. The range has overhead lighting, which allows Commercial Truck Driving classes to be offered at night during spring and fall semesters.

“Everything we do is about workforce development and meeting the needs of our communities,” said Dr. Kathy S. Love, STC President. “Our expansion with this new Liberty Commercial Truck Driving Range will yield more skilled drivers to serve the thriving logistics industry in our region. We thank the leadership and voters of Liberty County for their belief and investment in Savannah Technical College.”

The $1.28 million project included $117,000 funding from Liberty County’s #4 SPLOST.

“With our region’s growing demand for truck drivers it is the optimum time to expand Liberty Campus with this new truck driving range,” said Donald Lovette, STC board member and Chairman for the Liberty County Board of Commissioners. “Graduates will look forward to immediate employment at a good rate of pay.”

The Driving Range features a 2.8-acre asphalt “pad” area for truck maneuvers and a  half-mile shifting track around the range. A total of eight trucks could work simultaneously on the driving range at one time with six trucks on the pad and two trucks on the shifting track. Ellis Wood Contracting, Inc. (contractor) and Thomas & Hutton (design engineers) worked on this project.

In Fall 2018, Savannah Technical College answered the call of students wanting to be on the road sooner and the call of employers needing more skilled commercial truck drivers by reducing the length of its day class from seven weeks to five weeks. This allows for nine cohorts of students to complete the daytime program during each academic year in addition to evening and weekend programs. With the expansion of the new Liberty Commercial Truck Driving Range, the College has potential to nearly double its throughput of skilled commercial truck drivers to 480 graduates per year.

Commercial Truck Driving is one of Georgia’s high demand jobs that qualify for the HOPE Career Grant, receiving an additional $1,000. The HOPE Grant offers CTD students $657, reducing their total out-of-pocket expense to $227, which includes tuition/fees/CDL testing. For graduation rates, the median debt of students who completed the program, etc., visit www.savannahtech.edu/GainfulEmployment.

The next five-week day class for Commercial Truck Driving begins Sept. 21 at both the Effingham and Liberty campus locations. New students interested in enrolling in Commercial Truck Driving must be at least 18 years of age (21 years of age for interstate travel). For a full list of admission requirements, please visit: www.savannahtech.edu/TruckDriving or contact the Industrial Technology Academic Advisor at 912.443.5859.