JOINT BASE LEWIS MCCHORD, Wash. -- Joint Base Lewis-McChord McChord Field main gate will be undergoing a major facelift starting Feb. 10.

JBLM Directorate of Emergency Services Chief of Installation Access Larry Freeman said everything is in place to begin work on the main gate.

"Starting Feb. 10, the Woodbrook Housing Gate will be back open for business," Mr. Freeman said.

As soon as the housing gate reopens, another gate project is set to begin.

"At the main gate at McChord they are going to start setting up cones, barriers and signage for that construction," Mr. Freeman said. "They'll start setting up late in the afternoon on Feb. 9."

The gate will be open to traffic that day, while crews place signs and cones. 

The traffic revisions that will affect motorists at McChord's main gate will begin Feb. 10, he said, the day the Woodbrook Gate is scheduled to reopen.

"They'll be working on the canopy at the main gate and the guard booths as well as everything that's underneath the canopy," Mr. Freeman said.

The access control point will remain in operation throughout construction, with some lane shifting of the inbound and outbound lanes, he said.

"It will initially close both of the inbound lanes," said Mr. Freeman. "They'll be closed Feb. 9 until April 17."

During that time, the two outbound lanes will exist as one inbound and one outbound lane, he said.

"After motorists get past where the canopy currently is, we're going to route traffic back to the inbound lanes and then we'll have our guards set up to check IDs and screen vehicles before we allow them to enter the installation," Mr. Freeman said. "We won't sacrifice security for convenience."

Alternate routes are designed to minimize delays, he said.

"We're going to extend the hours for the Woodbrook (housing area) Gate," said Mr. Freeman. "For the entire duration of the project, we'll have the gate open from (5 a.m.) to (7 p. m.), Monday through Friday."

The housing gate will continue to be closed on weekends and federal holidays, he said.
North Gate will remain in operation and will mirror the hours of operation of the Woodbrook Gate.

"We're hoping people will use the Woodbrook Gate and North Gate to get on and off McChord," said Mr. Freeman.

If people use the alternate gates and plan for some delay, the traffic flow during construction should be close to normal, he said.

"Phase 2 is where we're going to have to close down the two outbound lanes starting April 18 and lasting until May 2," Mr. Freeman said. "During this phase we will convert the two inbound lanes at the main gate to one inbound lane and one outbound lane." 

Throughout construction the McChord Field Visitor Center will remain in operation, though using other offices for routine transactions is recommended. 

Vehicle registration will not be conducted at the McChord Field Visitor Center during the duty day during construction, Mr. Freeman said. Vehicle registration at the visitor center will be from 5 to 7:30 p.m., Monday through Friday and all day on weekends and federal holidays. During the construction, Building 100 will be the primary location to obtain decals on McChord Field.

Starting Feb. 4, the public can use the following Web address to obtain additional information about the construction project:http://www.lewis-mcchord.army.mil/des/le_home.htm