Construction for the 29 Bravo gate, located on Wilmot Road, a quarter mile north of Valencia Road, is scheduled to begin on Jan. 22.
The construction will take approximately 180 days. The project is slated to be complete, and the gate open, by mid-to-late May.
Work includes constructing a security forces checkpoint, a gate house that will provide communication and shelter for the guards at the gate, area lighting, and installing anti-vehicle barriers.
The intersection of Wilmot Road and Yuma Road, inside the base, will be changed to a three-way stop.
The anticipated growth in mission and population at D-M is having a significant impact on community roads.
“There is a large amount of growth taking place in Tucson to the south and the southeast of the base and the installation has a large number of personnel arriving from that direction,” said James Johnson, 355th Civil Engineer Squadron. “By creating a new installation entry point on the south side of the base, a significant amount of traffic on Kolb Road destined for D-M will be redirected toward Valencia Road to Wilmot.”
Currently, all three base entry gates are located along Golf Links Road which poses a traffic issue for the community.
“With the base opening the 29 Bravo gate that means less time on the road, less traffic and more time with my family” said Master Sgt. Brenda Davis, 355th Logistics Readiness Squadron vehicle operations supervisor. “I have tried taking different routes to see which will be the quickest way to work but traffic is bad at all the other gates. I live seven miles from the new gate so it will make my commute much faster.”
The 29 Bravo gate will not be available for commercial vehicles or individuals requiring a visitors pass. Only individuals that possess a valid Department of Defense identification card will be allowed access to the base from this gate. All others will be redirected to the Swan or Craycroft gates.
The days and hours of operation have not yet been determined. As time gets closer to project completion and the opening of the gate to traffic, wing leadership will decide and announce the hours of operation.
The opening of 29 Bravo was the winning decision chosen by the base populous when D-M was announced as the winner of the Commander-in-Chief Instillation Excellence Award in 2012.
