Improved Joint Base Langley-Eustis gate facilities will enhance traffic flow, capabilities

Posted August 11, 2010
By Patrick Bloodgood
Norfolk District Public Affairs

08/09/2010 - HAMPTON, Va — Two new facilities will be built over the next 21 months at Joint Base Langley-Eustis to allow for better traffic flow and better customer service through the LaSalle gate as well as provide the ability to safely inspect large vehicles in a separate facility at the west gate.

The $7.9 million project is being completed in two phases. The first 12-month phase will be the construction of the Large Vehicle Inspection Station, or LVIS. The second phase, expected to take approximately nine months, is making improvements to the LaSalle gate.

The LVIS will be built along Armistead Avenue near the installation's west gate, allowing up to three large trucks at a time to be inspected under a 5,200 square-foot canopy and away from the regular gate.

"Our security personnel are literally inspecting large vehicles in one lane of traffic outside of the La Salle gate. Once we construct this new large vehicle inspection station all commercial and large military trucks will come off of La Salle and come to a 21st century facility for inspections," said Lt. Col. Jeff Ullmann, commander of the 633rd Civil Engineers Squadron. "It will also be a great place for the drivers to wait while their vehicles are being inspected, as well as an area for our military working dogs to get out of the heat or cold in between inspections."

Project architects designed the LVIS facility to meet environmental standards.

"Most of the area is wetlands and there is an endangered species of rattlesnake here so we had to work hard to put the road in - in a manner that would minimize impact to the environment," said Patty Vaught, project manager who is overseeing the project. Vaught works with the Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Vaught also points out that that the LVIS facility is near the end of the runway and construction crews will need to coordinate with airfield traffic management so construction does not impede on flight operations. Crews will also work closely with the city of Hampton to rework the intersection of Armistead Avenue where it intersects with the new facility roadway and Sweeney Boulevard.

Phase two of the project encompasses reconstructing the LaSalle gate and includes building a new 568-square foot gate house, a new 5,200 square-foot visitor center, as well as the addition of a third lane for inbound traffic to improve traffic flow.

During four months of phase two construction at the LaSalle gate, the area will be closed to vehicles and pedestrians while contractors from W.M. Jordan Versar, JV work to get the facility completed. A temporary pass and ID/visitors center will be opened at the west gate while the LaSalle gate is closed.

"The flexibility of the new design and its ability to meet the DOD anti-terrorism force protection standards make it better suited to accommodate random anti-terrorism measures for sustained operations," said Col. Donald Kirkland, the 633rd Air Base Wing commander. "This is apparent in the road design, the traffic geometry, as well as the overall site design."