Base's morning traffic delays explained

  • Published
  • By Samuel King Jr.
  • Team Eglin Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Recent changes at the gates have led to lots of questions from morning motorists inbound to the base.

The main factor which led to the closure of the fourth inbound lane at the East Gate was the manning shortfall faced by the 96th Security Forces Squadron, according to Lt. Col. Jeffry Hollman, 96th SFS commander.

"In the interest of Team Eglin, this was the best solution to satisfy the majority of our workforce," he said.

To reopen the Northwest Gate on Aug. 22, for morning traffic, they needed to schedule at least two defenders for that gate. With continued deployments and turnover, the 96th SFS could not support the manning needed for all gates and all lanes of traffic to be open for the morning rush hour.

Traffic flow and safety were also factors in the decision to close the fourth lane.

"The tendency for the majority of the vehicle traffic to remain in the far right lane causes back-ups leading to the gate," said Hollman. "The traffic light just inside the gate also causes the traffic to backup when it cycles every time a vehicle or pedestrian arrives at the intersection, which can be very frequent during peak traffic periods."

In the three-lane configuration, the left two lanes must merge down to one (after passing through the gate). In the four-lane configuration, the congestion caused by three lanes attempting to merge into one is more dangerous and presents a greater risk to Team Eglin motorists and pedestrians.

"Our security forces team, like many others facing fiscal challenges, are doing their best to meet mission success with limited resources," said Col Lisa Hansen, 96 Mission Support Group Commander. "We appreciate their effort ensuring secure and safe passage through the gates for our base populace. We also appreciate the patience and cooperation of motorists adjusting to the new traffic flow."