‘It’s been seamless so far with just a couple of hiccups’- TCAT President Debbie Petree

This is the north side of the TCAT campus where a two story building will be constructed. (PHOTOS COURTESY OF WLAF’S CHARLIE HUTSON VIA EAGLE I)

JACKSBORO, TN (WLAF)- If a Campbell County connection is worth something then the building of the new TCAT- Jacksboro campus is in good hands. The road the school sits beside, Elkins Road, is named after the grandfather of the man heading up the project, Curtis Elkins. The younger Elkins is the superintendent of the project for Denark Construction out of Knoxville.

Clearing of trees is taking place at the back, west side, of the TCAT campus.

“They’re close to putting in the footers on our two story building,” said a smiling Debbie Petree, President of TCAT- Jacksboro. This project is the second Petree has overseen since becoming president in July 2015.

Much of the current TCAT buildings will become the new parking lot.

Ground was officially broken on this project in early December, and it has projected completion date of August 2026 with the first classes in the new facility starting in September 2026. “That is still the target date though, depending on the weather, we may have to push it back to later in the fall of 2026,” said Petree.

Footers are expected to soon be constructed on this side of the project.

Grade work continues on the very back of the TCAT campus where trees had to be cleared. That’s where the shop building will be constructed. That building is expected to go up quickly, according to President Petree.

A make shift parking lot was created to on the east, front, side of the TCAT campus.

“It’s been seamless so far with just a couple of hiccups,” said Petree. The construction fence came out so far that it eliminated a lot of parking, and a quick solution for temporary parking was developed on the front side of campus. One class had to be relocated as a result of the project.

The TCAT campus spans about 15 acres.

There are nearly 30 similar statewide projects underway, and this one is being designed to be flexible for future needs, according to Petree. “We’ve just outgrown a lot of this facility’s capacity, and this new facility should be usable for 50, 60 years and even beyond,” said the president. Petree points to the forward thinking back in the 1960s when all of the land was secured for the school calling it fortunate. The campus sits on about 15 acres of land.

A lot has been done since the December groundbreaking.

The current TCAT opened in 1967, and has been in use for going on 60 years. “The longevity of this facility is a credit to the maintenance and custodial staff. They have kept this building looking good and operational,” said President Petree.

A shop building will be constructed on the back, west, side of the TCAT campus.

MBI Designers is working with Denark Construction, both Knoxville companies. “The designers, MBI, did well to incorporate what we need in this community,” said Petree. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED-04/17/2025-6AM-PHOTOS COURTESY OF WLAF’S CHARLIE HUTSON)

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