Automotive Testing Facility Moves Forward with Site and Facilities Development

Northampton County, NC – The North Carolina Center for Automotive Research project reached yet another milestone this week as project engineers were given approval to move forward with the bidding process for construction of Phase 1A site improvements. On Wednesday, the NCCAR Board of Directors received formal approval of grading plans and construction bid documents from the North Carolina Office of State Construction and immediately authorized lead project engineers McKim & Creed to advertise the project for construction bids. Phase 1A construction will include roughly half of the project’s signature ride & handling course, a portion of the first vehicle dynamics area and the operations, engineering and client garage facilities along with onsite infrastructure and roadways.

Simon Cobb, NCCAR’s Chief Operating Officer, noted “The time line to operational activities is now selection of winning bid in mid July and start of construction in early August. Construction is expected to take one year. The site works are extensive and highly detailed with advice and input from many major OEM's in order to ensure that NCCAR achieves exceptional facilities to support the challenging future of the automotive industry."

NCCAR board members acknowledged the challenges encountered in the design and approval process. Northampton County Economic Development Director Gary Brown commented “Our engineering team has done a remarkable job. The site is 620 acres, the project and the features to be constructed are incredibly complex. And, our challenge to them, particularly the timeline, was very demanding. Yet, what would normally have been a ten month job they delivered in five. We’re also very thankful for the support we’ve received from the North Carolina General Assembly, Office of State Construction and the Office of State Management and Budget. They’ve provided solid advice and guidance through a difficult process” The firms of McKim & Creed, Giffels, S&ME, Land Management Group, HNTB, Walbridge Aldinger and Alastair McQueen Ltd. comprised the core engineering team for development of the project site.

About NCCAR: The North Carolina Center for Automotive Research (NCCAR) is a modern automotive testing facility for use in the design, development, testing and certification of advanced vehicle technologies, sub-systems and components. NCCAR is a State funded initiative that is designed to combine the resources and skills of North Carolina's industries, academic institutions and strategies to put North Carolina at the front of advanced vehicle technologies and hence jobs The Research Center is a public-private partnership that matches the talents of multi-national automotive companies with those of North Carolina's leading universities. NCCAR is world class and focused on next generation research and development in the automotive industry. For more information, www.nccar.us

About: North Carolina’s Northeast Commission North Carolina’s Northeast Commission is dedicated to increasing the standard of living for citizens in its sixteen-county region through tourism, industrial, and business development. The 16 counties that comprise the regional Commission are: Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Gates, Halifax, Hertford, Hyde, Martin, Northampton, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Tyrrell, and Washington. For more information about the North Carolina’s Northeast Commission, contact us at www.ncnortheast.com and www.visitncne.com.