Traffic pattern changes begin near West gate Published July 8, 2015 By Mike Spaits Team Eglin Public Affairs EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- The 96th Civil Engineer Group advises motorists coming onto or leaving the base through the West gate to take note as they approach the West gate chapel on Eglin Boulevard. They will soon experience new traffic patterns to increase safety. The road work is expected to be finished July 10 and new traffic patterns will begin immediately upon completion. "Due to safety concerns with vehicles trying to cross traffic so close to the gate at the Hatchee Road intersection, all vehicles turning left onto Eglin Boulevard to exit the West Gate will now do so at the May Road intersection next to the chapel," said Mike Newell, 796th Civil Engineer Squadron, project engineer. "This will allow for minimal interruptions to inbound traffic, while outbound traffic will continue and merge with the turn lane from May Road without stopping." Motorists will still be able to turn right onto Hatchee Road as they enter the base, but will no longer be able to turn left off Hatchee to exit the base. Also, when driving Westbound on Eglin Boulevard, people will not be able to turn left onto Hatchee Road directly in front of the gate. When exiting the base from the Eglin Hospital, people will either have to exit at the Hospital gate, or proceed East on Gaffney Road to May Road and use the new traffic light to turn onto Eglin Boulevard. The new traffic light at May Road and Eglin is a pressure sensitive switch and will only stop Eastbound traffic on Eglin Boulevard. If motorists are attempting to turn left from May Road onto Eglin Boulevard, they will then merge with Westbound traffic, which will not have a stoplight. "We just ask motorists to be patient and exercise caution with the new flow of traffic," said Newell. "As we learn the tempo, we'll adjust the timing of the lights accordingly to ensure traffic flows as smoothly as possible."