SALINEVILLE – The Utica Shale Academy is receiving $250,000 to complete an interior welding lab at its latest facility.

Construction is currently underway for a second building next to the current exterior welding lab at 83 E. Main St. and the latest allocation will finance the interior welding site. The 5,000-square-foot structure features 40 welding labs, a CNC plasma cutter and classroom and should be completed this summer. PDDM Solutions of Canonsburg, Pa., was awarded the initial $907,000 bid with FMD Architects, Inc., of Fairlawn performing the work, but the extra welding labs increased costs to nearly $1.5 million. The crux of the construction funding was derived through an Appalachian Community Grant from Ohio H.B. 2 for roughly $1.3 million and the latest sum will come from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) and Governor’s Office of Appalachia (GOA).

USA Superintendent Bill Watson said officials learned from the Ohio Mid-Eastern Governments Association (OMEGA) in May that the grant was approved through the ARC and GOA as part of the plan year (PY2026) Project Priority List. According to a formal letter, phase one of the Appalachian Welding Expansion (AWE) project emerged as a “recommended” Federal ARC Area Development project.

“We are pleased to share that this $250,000 grant request will move forward from it’s pre-application position to a full application,” stated OMEGA Executive Director Dr. Vicki King-Maple, adding that OMEGA representatives would assist with the application process and schedule a team to review the ARC Area Development Program requirements and application process. “After the ARC approves your full application, a grant agreement will be prepared between the Appalachian Regional Commission and the Utica Shale Academy of Ohio.”

The grant agreement was to be issued during the Spring of 2026 but officials expedited the funding to complete the project.

“The welding lab we’re building is in two phases,” Watson said. “The first phase is the building itself and the second phase is the welding lab inside. We applied several months ago and there are multiple stages to it. We have a project with one-time funds and the daily budgets are tough to keep up with, so we were pleased when this funding came through.”

Ground was broken in March for the site while the foundation and roofing were completed with plumbing and other utility lines being placed. Watson said a completion date was being targeted by mid-August with a ribbon-cutting ceremony eyed for Oct. 3.

“We plan on pushing [the project completion] towards the end of July and hope to be up and running in September when the students return to school,” he continued.

The new building is a restructuring of a previous idea for a three-story structure. Watson explained that a funding request by U.S. Rep. Michael Rulli, R-Ohio, made while he was still a state senator resulted in a lesser amount and caused officials to alter their idea. USA became the first recipient of Gov. Mike DeWine’s $500 million ARC grant to expand the welding, heavy equipment and robotics programs and provide modern, state-of-the-art opportunities for its students.

Since beginning 11 years ago, USA has expanded its campus and student base, growing from 50 to about 170 pupils in grades 7-12 and amassing a series of learning facilities including the Hutson Building, Energy Training Center and Williams Collaboration Building, which are all located along East Main Street, as well as the Utica Shale Academy Community Center on Church Street. USA is a dropout recovery and retention facility that focuses career-tech education for at-risk pupils and has had nearly 200 students graduate and more than 1,100 certifications being earned since 2021.