By Matt Reese
CCC Journalism Program
BLACKWOOD – The fall semester has brought about many changes at the Blackwood campus of Camden County College. With much construction still underway, a lot has been accomplished.
With the added traffic due to construction, Camden County College completed work on Ring Road, a string of circles that allow students to enter and exit the campus. In addition, College Drive is accessible directly from Route 42, which helps the traffic congestion in the morning.
“The addition of College Drive off of Route 42 is brand new this semester. It saves some people 15 to 20 minutes on their commute,” said Assistant Director of Public Safety Steve Hetherington. “Ring Road was completed this summer to help students traverse campus without using county roads.”
Ring Road is a complete overhaul of the old horseshoe traffic pattern the school had.
“It makes it a lot easier to get across the campus,” said Mike Rios, a student at CCC. “I can leave campus a lot faster this semester compared to before.”
In addition to the already completed projects, CCC has many projects underway, including a walkway that is currently nearing completion.
“Campus Walk is a straight walk from CIM (Building) to Wilson Hall, a better lit, more convenient way to get across campus,” said Hetherington.
A new three-story building is being constructed between Madison Hall and Wolverton Library. The 107,000-square-foot building will serve as the new science wing, with 18 biology and chemistry labs and 26 classrooms. This building will also house a dental clinic, nursing arts center, demo kitchen, faculty and administration offices, as well as a new café.
“Most of my science classes are in older buildings, so a new science wing sounds like a good idea,” said Rios.
Progress on the building can be tracked, via camera, at the college’s website under the public safety tab.
The construction of the new science building will allow the school to renovate Taft Hall as well, which will be turned into the new student services center and college administration building. Planning and preliminary work has begun on Taft Hall, and renovation will begin as soon as the new science wing opens. Renovation on Taft Hall is expected to take eight to 12 months and will be completed in summer of 2013.
Said Hetherington, “The hope is these changes will not only aesthetically, but functionally improve the campus.”