BISMARK, ND Consolidated Construction Co. Inc. and the North Dakota Safety Council (NDSC) recently broke ground on the North Dakota Safety Council's new 23,490-square-foot regional training facility located near Bismarck State College.

Consolidated Construction Co., Inc. and officials from the NDSC, hosted the groundbreaking for the new $5.5 million state-of-the-art facility that will make safety training accessible for companies and individuals statewide.

The new center includes a 5,000-square-foot hands-on training lab where participants will be able to, among other things, experience the effects of a collapsed trench without the possibility of injury, wear fall protection equipment, and learn to operate a lift truck. The facility also includes multiple high-tech classrooms, driving simulators, and a dirt floor arena that will allow students to train on heavy equipment.

Wayne Yeager from Consolidated Construction is the Architect. Curt Janssen is the Project Manager and James Allred is the Project Superintendent.

The private, non-profit NDSC has been in operation since 1961, and stresses its mission of saving lives by preventing injuries and deaths at work, on the roads and in our homes and communities. The NDSC trains approximately 50,000 people a year through public and private programs.

In the 2015 fiscal year, North Dakota Safety & Insurance reported 24,767 total claims filed. In 2015, 131 people were killed on North Dakota's roads and highways. By building the new training center, NDSC officials expect to produce a better trained workforce, reduce the number of traffic fatalities in the state, help businesses and schools prepare for emergency situations and improve personal safety

The facility will serve the industries of energy, construction, manufacturing, oil and gas, utilities, transportation, mining, healthcare and more.