Perdue and officials at the groundbreaking ceremony. (Dave Bender)
Governor Sonny Perdue turned the first shovelful of earth for a planned medical sciences technical training center in Columbus Tuesday.
Perdue was joined by a host of state and local officials at the festive ceremony, which was held under a large tent in a field near the Columbus Technical College.
Perdue touted the timing of building the Dr. Robert L. Wright, Jr. Health Sciences Center, in conjunction with nearby Fort Benning's expected expansion, and influx of soldiers and families in the next few years:
"It means the spouse of a soldier who relocated to for t benning will have the opportunity to earn a degree and possibly find a nursing job right here."The State of Georgia is paying $16 million of the estimated $21 to $25 million dollars the nursing and health sciences training center will cost.
Artist's rendering of the planned Dr. Robert L. Wright, Jr. Health Sciences Center. (Courtesy)
Officials expect the 84,000 sq.-ft. facility to double Columbus Technical College's current 1,100-student enrollment.
Construction on the center is to begin in the fall, and officials expect to finish by mid-2010.
Click here for more GPB News coverage of events in Columbus and at Fort Benning.
