The Laurinburg Fire Department and 911 call center shovel the dirt at the Laurinburg North Fire Station groundbreaking ceremony. Photos| Brandon Hodge/ The Laurinburg Exchange

The Laurinburg Fire Department and 911 call center shovel the dirt at the Laurinburg North Fire Station groundbreaking ceremony.

Photos| Brandon Hodge/ The Laurinburg Exchange

<p>Laurinburg Fire Chief Jordan McQueen speaks at the Laurinburg North Fire Station groundbreaking ceremony.</p> <p>Photos| Brandon Hodge/ The Laurinburg Exchange</p>

Laurinburg Fire Chief Jordan McQueen speaks at the Laurinburg North Fire Station groundbreaking ceremony.

Photos| Brandon Hodge/ The Laurinburg Exchange
<p>Mayor Jim Willis speaks at the Laurinburg North Fire Station groundbreaking ceremony.</p> <p>Photos| Brandon Hodge/ The Laurinburg Exchange</p>

Mayor Jim Willis speaks at the Laurinburg North Fire Station groundbreaking ceremony.

Photos| Brandon Hodge/ The Laurinburg Exchange
<p>A Laurinburg fire truck and American flag at the Laurinburg North Fire Station groundbreaking ceremony.</p> <p>Photos| Brandon Hodge/ The Laurinburg Exchange</p>

A Laurinburg fire truck and American flag at the Laurinburg North Fire Station groundbreaking ceremony.

Photos| Brandon Hodge/ The Laurinburg Exchange

LAURINBURG —The city of Laurinburg held a groundbreaking ceremony Monday morning for North Fire Station.

Hawks Builders of Richmond County will be constructing the fire station, which was severely damaged in 2018 by Hurricane Florence. The city had been working to relocate the area from North Main Street to Aberdeen Road.

Hawks Builders’ bid came in at $2,778.347 and will include the five-bay station the city was hoping for.

The city’s budget, fueled by FEMA and GoldenLEAF grants, stands at $2,680,898. The balance will come from the American Relief Program monies, which will be about $4.7 over the next two years.

According to Laurinburg Fire Chief Jordan McQueen, construction for the station is expected to be completed by November 2023.

Laurinburg Mayor Jim Willis acknowledged the importance of the North Station for the Laurinburg Fire Department.

“The North Station was the main station,” he said. “That’s where their training was (and) had some bedrooms. For four years, they’ve been forced to operate out of the South Fire Station. It’s been a real burden on our firefighters.”

Willis also explained that the COVID-19 pandemic forced many places to temporarily close, which delayed the timing of the North Station to be rebuilt.

“We just have had a really long and strange road to get to this point today.”

The new station will be located at 17501 Aberdeen Road.

Reach Brandon Hodge at bhodge@laurinburgexch.wpenginepowered.com