The Record Newspapers - Hometown News For Orange County, Texas

ORANGE, TX - Lamar State College Orange (LSCO) shared progress this week on the construction of a new Commercial Driver's License (CDL) training facility, made possible by a grant from the Office of Governor Greg Abbott.

The state’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund awarded LSCO an $800,000 grant to build a 54,000 square foot driving pad and a covered area with a concrete base for seating and instruction, all with enhanced lighting.

"In partnership with the Texas Workforce Commission, we at LSCO have already trained and graduated 120 individuals in our CDL program, but as the demand in this industry is so high, this new CDL facility funded by the Governor's grant will allow us to put even more people to work immediately," said LSCO President Dr. Tom Johnson.

Due to incredible demand for truck drivers, this enhanced training facility will help address the driver shortage affecting the national and Texas economies.

"Well-trained and qualified CDL candidates are completing LSCO's program and entering the workforce every day," said LSCO Dean of Health, Workforce, and Technical Studies Kristin Walker. "Our new CDL training area provides a stable, reliable, and safe training ground for our CDL Program. It is a statement to both our students and business partners that LSCO is committed to CDL training and to creating a pipeline of well-trained potential employees," Walker said.

In fact, a recent graduate of LSCO's CDL Program is now employed by the construction company completing the project and works on-site driving the heavy machinery required to complete the grant-funded construction.

The new facility creates an acre-and-a-half training ground that allows for simulating backing maneuvers and other critical driving skills on expressly-made training lanes. The expanded lighting will also allow for evening classes that are not currently possible.

The project will be fully completed by the end of August.

For more information on LSCO's CDL Program or to get started with classes, contact LSCO’s Community and Workforce Education Department at [email protected] or (409) 882-3321.

Lamar State College Orange is part of the Texas State University System (TSUS). The System, founded in 1911, is Texas’ first university system. TSUS member institutions currently serve more than 87,000 students on 13 campuses from far West Texas to the Gulf Coast. Additional member institutions include Lamar University, Sam Houston State University, Sul Ross State University, Texas State University, Lamar Institute of Technology, and Lamar State College Port Arthur.