Base main gate to be rebuilt, entry to change

by Staff Sgt. Brian Stives

366th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

The main gate to Mountain Home Air Force Base will close for construction April 7 and remain closed through November 2008, when the project is expected to have road and surface work complete.

The $5 million construction project, which will run through February 2009, will consist of increasing the number of inbound and outbound lanes, building a new visitor's center and guard facility, installation of permanent popup barriers, and new lighting and force protection-oriented landscaping. During the project, the final phase of resurfacing Gunfighter Avenue between the main gate and the commissary will also be completed.

"We have been planning the construction of the gates for four years," said Stephen Gibbs, 366th Civil Engineer Squadron operations and maintenance team chief. "The new gate will help Mountain Home AFB attain the higher force protection measures the Air Force implemented because of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks."

"The new gate will help us to better control vehicles entering the base," said Doug Pippin, 366th Fighter Wing force protection chief. "We will also be able to protect our people and resources better by limiting access through new features, like the popup barriers and other safety features included in the project."

With the closure of the main gate, Gunfighters will use the Grand View Gate or the 31-V Gate, located off Beet Dump Road to get on or off the base during weekdays. The Grand View Gate will be open 24-hours-a-day and the 31-V Gate from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. On weekends, the only gate open will be the Grand View Gate. In addition, all visitors must use the Grand View Gate where they will receive a temporary pass.

For morning traffic, both the inbound and outbound lanes at Grand View Gate will be open to in-bound traffic only from 6 to 8 a.m. Mondays through Fridays. Anyone leaving the base between those times will have to use the 31-V Gate.

Construction on the gate will also affect areas outside and inside the base. All visitors to the base must use the Grand View Gate where they will be issued a temporary pass.

There will be an electronic reader board placed on Airbase Road to alert drivers of the closure before the Grand View Highway turnoff. Additional signage will be placed on Grand View Highway to warn drivers of increased traffic around the Grand View Gate.

Flaggers also will be posted to the road to help control traffic flow during the first week of the gate closure to help motorists get used to the new traffic routes.

"We have asked the groups to stagger work schedules to try to alleviate some of the traffic," said Gibbs.

On base, the most notable change will be reversing the direction of stop signs along Liberator Street from the Grand View Gate through Phantom Avenue. The most prominent switch will be the stop signs where Liberator Avenue intersects with Aardvark (corner by the fitness center) and Phantom (next to softball fields) avenues.

"This will allow the traffic to flow steadily down Liberator Avenue without backing up," said Gibbs.

Another area the 366th CES had to look at was what to do with the Gunfighter Skies 2008 airshow Sept. 13-14. "We are going to have two lanes through the main gate temporarily opened for the airshow weekend," said Gibbs. "There may not be a visitor's center or guard shack ready, but we will have personnel posted to let the public onto the base. Then we will re-close the gate to continue with construction."

While the construction of the gate will take up to a year to complete, base officials are asking the Gunfighters to keep an open mind to changes as they come up. Gunfighters will have to make adjustments, but the engineers and construction contractors working this project are working hard to make it easier for everyone to adjust. There will be briefings and articles in the upcoming weeks to further detail the changes and provide a forum for questions and answers.

"We appreciate everyone's patience while we are completing this project," said Gibbs. "In the long-run, this will make Mountain Home Air Force Base a better place to work and raise our families."

"Our Gunfighter Team of civil engineers, contracting, security forces and force protection professionals have done a tremendous job in finalizing both world-class design improvements to our entry gate facilities and in orchestrating the complex execution of this project", said Col. Tom Laffey, 366th Mission Support Group commander.

"If the entire Gunfighter Team utilizes varied work schedules to the maximum extent possible, and is aware of all the various traffic route changes, the project's impact will be minimized."