A truck driving school will soon hit the road in Salina. Salina Area Technical College Thursday afternoon announced plans for a new commercial driver training program.

The new program will be a five week, 210 hour course. When completed, students will be prepared to immediately begin a truck driving career.

Students enrolling in the class will spend between $3,200 and $3,500. They can expect to earn a starting salary between $50,000 and $75,000 a year. They can also expect plenty of job opportunities. In September there were 82 job openings in the industry in the Salina area.

The driver training program will cost the college over $300,000 a year to operate. Officials are still in the process of securing funding.

Several community businesses support the program, and have already made donations. Great Plains Trucking is donating a truck, as is APAC, along with a couple of trailers. Schwan’s is offering a location for driver’s to train. The Salina Area Chamber of Commerce is also a major supporter of the new program.

Salina Area Technical College plans to launch its new commercial driver training program in the spring of 2015.