It is a rule and not an exception that traffic on the I-5 corridor in and around Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) and the City of Lakewood has significantly increased.
It's also understood that 16,000 returning troops this summer will make matters even worse.
While the increase in people is good for the local economy, the increase in vehicles is problematic on I-5.
Both pose a challenge for Lakewood and JBLM.
In 2005, the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) ordered more than two dozen Army, Navy and Air Force installations to come together in a dozen locations.
The newly formed JBLM is the largest joint base the Army manages in the country. Home to three Stryker brigades, it also has experienced an increase in the number of soldiers serving there.
Eighty percent of the servicemembers use I-5 to access JBLM. Simply put, more soldiers means more traffic.
In a June 2010 status report on the I-5 Fort Lewis/McChord Transportation Analysis posted on the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) Web site (www.wsdot.wa.gov), the increase of traffic on I-5 between State Route 512 and Mounts Road (Exit 116) - an approximate 11-mile section - is due to the Department of Defense's (DoD) consolidation of the two bases as part of the 2005 BRAC Joint Basing Plan authorized by Congress.
The analysis is part of a larger study effort funded by a $500,000 grant from the DoD's Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA), which examines a wide range of community issues resulting from military growth.
The City of Lakewood and WSDOT - along with numerous local and county agencies - completed the study.
As to the OEA, it is the DOD's primary source for assisting communities adversely impacted by Defense program changes, including base closures or realignments, base expansions and contract or program cancellations.
"It is an issue of capacity and the quality of life," said Dan Penrose, project manager, OEA grants, who works for the City of Lakewood.
"We've partnered with WSDOT to gather data to look at traffic outside the fence of JBLM."
It should be noted that the traffic entering JBLM varies but now is on the rise.
While traffic to JBLM-Lewis-Main has generally increased over the past several years (an average of 48,000 vehicles enter JBLM-Lewis Main daily), volumes have increased and decreased as various troop deployments have occurred.
In contrast to JBLM-Lewis Main, the traffic entering JBLM-McChord Field (an average of 19,000 vehicles daily) has remained constant.
With the return of over 16,000 JBLM servicemembers scheduled over the next couple of months, traffic use on I-5 will increase.
Which means I-5 will become more crowded.
Designated a National Highway System (NHS) route, I-5 supports the United States strategic defense policy by providing access to JBLM and Camp Murray (home of the Washington National Guard, Washington Military Department and the Washington State Emergency Military Department).
Designated as a "Highway of Statewide Significance" (HSS), the interstate also provides access to intermodal transportation facilities and accommodates interstate and interregional travel.
The interstate is also a major contributor to the local economy.
Currently 10 to 15 percent - approximately 15,000 freight vehicles - travel the route.
The topography of the area, combined with the presence of JBLM and Camp Murray, makes local traffic difficult - with I-5 often serving as the only local connection.
In studying the section of I-5 between SR 512 and Mounts Road (Exit 116), the study recommends long-term improvements at Thorne Lane (Exit 123), Berkeley Street/Madigan Gate (Exit 122), 41st Division Drive/Main Gate (Exit 120) and Dupont-Steilacoom/Dupont Gate (Exit 119).
Officials at JBLM have been briefed on the study's findings. The proposed changes to the four exits would involve land use and architectural issues.
"Our concern is to make sure we get folks off the highway safely and out of here safely," said Larry Mickel, a transportation systems manager at JBLM.
He dismissed the idea that the post would relocate the gates at those exits to create more room for waiting traffic.
Mickel also pointed out that as per the Federal Highway Act of 1956, I-5 was built to facilitate the movement of military assets.
He's half right.
Under President Dwight Eisenhower's leadership, the Act established the country's interstate highway system.
When he took office in January 1953, the states had only completed 6,500 miles of improved roads. Eisenhower realized the value of good highways in 1919, when he participated in the Army's first transcontinental motor convoy from Washington, D.C. to San Francisco.
During World War II, he also noted the advantage the autobahn highway system gave the Germans.
Eisenhower realized that a developed highway system in this country was vital to national defense and would spur the development of commerce throughout the country.
This is not to say that JBLM is not working to address the problem of easing the problem of more traffic on base.
JBLM engineers are considering installing stoplights and roundabouts at certain intersections, a right turn lane at the D Street Gate and a stoplight at the intersection of East Drive and Dupont-Steilacoom Road.
The study has established the data; results will be forwarded to various congressional committees looking for funding.
In the meantime, the congestion on I-5 - which impacts both economic growth and military interests - will remain.