Photo by Deb Gau Local officials, state legislators, and members of the MERIT Commission broke ground Thursday for the second phase of construction of the MERIT Center driving track in Marshall. The project will add 1.5 miles of road, which will expand the types of training that can be done on the track.

MARSHALL — “It’s been a long road to make this a longer road,” Rep. Chris Swedzinski said, addressing the group of people gathered at the Minnesota Emergency Response and Industrial Training (MERIT ) Center on Thursday.

Swedzinski said it jokingly, but it was still a pretty accurate description. Local officials, state legislators, and members of the MERIT Commission gathered Thursday to break ground for the next phase of the MERIT Center’s driving track. It will be the latest development at the center, and part of planning that goes back years.

“The whole project has been in the works for a long time,” said Marshall public safety director and MERIT Commission member Rob Yant. Construction of expanded classroom space and a driving training track at the center came about after a 2005 study. In the study, a driving track was a high priority for a number of different groups, Yant said.

Starting next spring, construction will begin to add 1.5 miles of road and a concrete “skid pad” to the current driving track. With the track and skid pad complete, the MERIT Center will be able to host a wider variety of driving training for law enforcement, fire department, and commercial driver’s license purposes.

“It will be really exciting to allow law enforcement to get up to speeds of pursuit,” said MERIT Center coordinator Jasmine DeSmet.

The driving track project design had included the longer track and skid pad, but with the funding the project had received, only half the design could be built at once. This spring, Gov. Mark Dayton signed a bill including $3.1 million to complete the driving track.

Bringing people to Marshall for training was big positive aspect of the project, Swedzinski said. With the driving track available, educators could also help address the need for CDL training in southwest Minnesota.

“There’s a big shortage of that in the state,” he said.

“I think it’s going to be a really good addition, to get the track finished,” said state Sen. Gary Dahms.

Once it’s finished, the full driving track at the MERIT Center will be over two miles long — enough space for law enforcement vehicles to get up to speed for pursuit training. In addition to the track’s “skills pad,” which is used for maneuvering at slower speeds, the construction will add a “skid pad” that can be used for sudden braking and turning.

“The new pad coming in is going to be smaller, but much deeper,” and with a smoother surface than the skills pad, Yant said. The skid pad will also have a nearby hydrant, which will make it possible to do fire department and other kinds of training.

Yant said it was exciting to be able to see the groundbreaking for the last phase of the driving track before he retires as Marshall public safety director.

Swedzinski and Byrnes said Yant deserved recognition for his efforts with the MERIT Commission to help make the driving track and MERIT Center expansion possible.

“It’s really a credit to Rob’s leadership,” Byrnes said. “He took this on, really, as a special calling.”

The important part about the MERIT Center was its ability to bring together different groups from across the region, like public agencies, industries and educational institutions like Minnesota West Community and Technical Colleges. “It’s not about one department. It’s really about partnerships,” Byrnes said.