The new access point to Fort Meade at Mapes Road and Route 175 is nearing completion. (Courtesy photo)
The Fort George G. Meade Mapes Road and Route 175 access control point project is inching toward completion.
Mike Keller, director of the Directorate of Public Works, joined the new garrison podcast “Fort Meade Declassified” last week to provide an update on the project.
All that is left in completing construction is the paving of a small portion of the road on Route 175 by the Maryland State Highway Administration, said Keller.
“Once that’s done, we can start initiating the final pieces we have to [complete] to start using [the new gate],” Keller said.
Keller said the ACP could be operational in two to three weeks.
Once the project is completed and operating, Mapes/175 will become the new 24/7 primary access control point, taking over from the Reece Road entrance, which will see its hours reduced.
The Visitor Control Center will not be impacted by the change since Reece Road is expected to remain open during the center’s normal operating hours.
The Llewellyn Avenue access point will cease operations once the project is completed.
Though the gate changes will require motorists to adapt to new patterns, Keller said there will be noticeable improvements to traffic flow.
“When you come in through [the new gate], the access is much wider,” Keller said.
Keller provided updates on other projects on the podcast as well.
Long-awaited renovations to Buildings 9803 and 9804 on the grounds of the NSA should commence in the late spring or early summer.
The buildings, which date back to the 1950s, currently serve as barracks. Repairs will aim to get the buildings up to code and are estimated to cost about $41 million, Keller said.
Funding is expected to come in “the second or third quarter of this fiscal year,” Keller said. He expects the project to take only nine months.
“We’ll have to be swinging hammers in all the buildings by the end of the summer because of the fiscal year constraints,” he said.
Angela Thomas, public works community planner, said the Child Development Center II’s renovation is nearing completion, with center I renovations scheduled to commence once center II is ready.
Improvements to the two child care centers include interior finishes, flooring, drywall repair, corner guards, painting and wallpaper removal.
The centers will also have improved mechanical utilities, electrical, fire alarms, security, plumbing and structural work.
Beginning New Year’s Day, commissaries, Post Exchanges and recreational facilities across the Department of Defense have opened their doors to more than 4.1 million additional veterans, Army officials said.
Privileges are now extended to veterans who are Purple Heart recipients, former prisoners of war, and all who have any level of service-connected disabilities.
Individuals designated as primary family caregivers of eligible veterans will also be granted privileges if they are recognized under the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers.