Gate closure, traffic delays at Laughlin to pay off after renovation

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Olufemi Owolabi
  • 47th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Even though it's been a while since the main gate closed, the morning wait is a constant reminder of the on-going construction project, and it begs the questions; where are we at and how much progress have we made?

With an approximate cost of $200,000, the construction project continues unabated. This project involves the use of heavy machinery, and so it still requires the closure of both lanes in order to keep traffic out of the area, to expedite the progress and to ensure the safety of the base populace.

Some of the changes to the main gate will include a larger commercial search area and a new parking expansion. The changes will allow the guards to perform their duties at maximum potential while minimizing the impact of congestion through the main gate.

"As it stands right now the main gate off of Highway 90 is scheduled to be completed by mid-March," said 1st Lt. Brad Woehrlen, 47th SFS. "With a bigger commercial search area the gate guards will be able to process more commercial vehicles at the main gate without impeding or endangering the movement of privately owned vehicle traffic onto the base."

In addition, a mechanical engineer with the 47th CES, Kendrick C. Cloud said the new design and layout will provide an area large enough to inspect two or three semi-trucks simultaneously without obstructing traffic flow.

Another addition to the main-gate construction are the gate activated, final denial wedge barriers. The final denial wedge barriers, which have already been installed, are set beneath the surface of the road. Should there be a gate-runner these wedge barriers will pop out of the ground creating a barrier to stop any vehicle heading down Liberty Drive.

"This is a huge advancement in our ability to stop potential hostile person," said Lieutenant Woehrlen. "The final denial barriers will greatly reduce the ability of any gate-runners gaining access to the base."

Last week during the morning rush, an alarm activated at an on-base facility, requiring the shut-down of the west gate, which subsequently caused a huge traffic jam. According to Lieutenant Woehrlen, the closure of the west gate was a safety precaution for both base members and for the surrounding community. The closure limited the available avenue of escape for any hostile individuals while stopping any potential collaborators from entering on base.

"This allowed the security forces to focus their efforts on protecting the base," he said. "Unfortunately, sometimes ensuring base security dictates closing the gate or stopping traffic completely depending on the severity of the situation."

Currently, the front gate construction is ahead of schedule, which means that the mid- March deadline should be met, said Mr. Cloud.

Base officials are urging members to be patient for the remainder of the project when accessing the west gate. In the event of incidents that require the gate to be shut, the 47th SFS members will do their best to neutralize the situation in a timely manner and to re-open the gate again to traffic, Lieutenant Woehrlen added.

"We can not dictate when an incident will happen on the base which will require the gate to be shut, but we must respond to them," he said. "If the gate is shut, then it was shut for an important safety or security reason, but we do try to mitigate the traffic consequences as best as possible."

He added that if traffic is getting backed up outside the gate, they also ensure they maintain good communications with the local law enforcement, in the case of last week, the Val Verde Sherriff's Office, to help control the traffic.

"Until the front gate is completed the best advice I can give is to allow a little extra time heading to work and leave home a little earlier in the morning understanding we only have one gate right now," Lieutenant Woehrlen urged.