Fayetteville Technical Community College broke ground Monday, Sept. 15, on the first phase of the Regional Supply Chain Management & Logistics Center, a $21.2 million project designed to assist in meeting regional workforce demands in the transportation, distribution and logistics industries.

Located on a 58-acre site on Old Raeford Road in Fayetteville, the center will be built in two phases.

Phase I consists of a 600x900-foot truck pad that will provide vital training space for students in the Commercial Driver’s License Program. The 13-acre pad accommodates up to 14 tractor trailer trucks and includes a shifting track and skid area. The first phase is expected to open in December 2025.

FTCC President Dr. Mark Sorrells said the new facility will reduce enrollment waitlists and streamline the training-to-workforce pipeline across the region.

“This facility will serve as a hub for truck driver training, supporting Fayetteville Tech, Bladen Community College and Robeson Community College,” Sorrells said in a press release. “The transportation industry urgently needs more qualified truck drivers to strengthen the supply chain for our state and nation. Our current programs are at full capacity, constrained by limited space for essential maneuvering training, with Fayetteville Tech facing a six-month waiting list. This new facility will significantly expand training capacity across all three colleges, enabling us to produce more graduates to meet the growing demand for skilled professionals in the transportation sector.”

Phase II will focus on the construction of a 5,000-square-foot building to house classrooms, offices and a two-bay garage for the maintenance of vehicles. In addition to the CDL program, the facility will be home to FTCC’s Fleet Maintenance Technician program. The second phase will go out to bid in early 2026.

The construction project is made possible through $20.7 million in funding from the state and a $500,000 grant from Golden LEAF Foundation.

To support the growth of the program, the Cannon Foundation, Inc. and the Charles A. Cannon Charitable Trusts awarded FTCC a $400,000 grant to purchase trucks, equipment and supplies.

Sorrells expressed gratitude to Cumberland County’s past and current delegations to the North Carolina General Assembly for supporting the project from its early stages.

“Fayetteville Tech extends heartfelt gratitude to Cumberland County’s delegation to the North Carolina General Assembly, particularly former Representative John Szoka, for their leadership three years ago in securing critical funding to build a state-of-the-art regional truck driver training facility,” Sorrells said in a press release. “This facility will empower a highly skilled workforce for the transportation industry in the Sandhills Region. We also express deep appreciation to our valued funding partners, including the Golden LEAF Foundation, the N.C. Community College System, the Cannon Charitable Trust and others, whose support made this vision a reality.”

The transportation industry is in an ongoing national truck driver shortage, with the American Trucking Association in August predicting a shortage of 115,000 drivers this year.

FTCC’s 10-week CDL program trains dozens of students each year with a 100-percent job placement rate; however, space and equipment limitations of the current training area on FTCC’s Fayetteville campus creates an enrollment waitlist that keeps students sidelined for as many as six months.

In an effort to address the regional demand for truck drivers, FTCC entered into strategic partnerships with Robeson Community College and Bladen Community College, which allowed students to attend classroom portions of the course at their home college before entering the driving portion. Students from the three colleges will be able to use the truck pad simultaneously.