Portion of State Route 444 to close Oct. 9 Published Oct. 5, 2012 By Amy Rollins Skywrighter Staff WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB, Ohio -- Traffic flow for a key portion of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is about to be forever changed with the Oct. 9 closure of a portion of State Route 444 that currently bisects Area A. Fred Tito, a design manager in the 88 Civil Engineer Directorate and manager of the project, said drivers will be able to utilize the route until about 9 a.m., then barriers will be put out and construction will begin to extend base perimeter fencing across the road to permanently close the roadway to non-base personnel. At the southern end of the project, State Route 444 will close behind the gas station at the West Dayton-Yellow Springs Road intersection so the business will not be affected. At the north end, a gate is being constructed across State Route 444 near the back of the base Commissary. During the construction period, base traffi c will be restricted from using the closed portion of State Route 444. Access to the Kittyhawk Center will be maintained through gates 8A and 38A. See the map for details on what will be closed and traffic routing. The existing Gate 1A will be open 24 hours during this transition time. In mid November, construction will be complete. The new Gate 1A and the former State Route 444 will open for use by base personnel. At that time, the existing Gate 1A (near the cemetery) will close. "The project has been going well," Mr. Tito said. "Construction that has taken place up to this point has gone on schedule. Change is hard and there will be a learning curve for everyone, but it's pretty exciting, too." The existing fencing along the project portion of State Route 444 eventually will come down, he said, though it is not part of the closure project. Gates 9A, 8A and 38A will be open and usable with no guards present. As part of the project, Spruce Way will be extended east near the Temporary Lodging Facilities after fencing is removed and pavement constructed to connect it with the project portion of State Route 444. The new roadway will be named Spruce Way. A new Gate 1A with a guardhouse and a canopy to provide the guards with some protection from the elements will be constructed on State Route 444 behind the Commissary by mid-November, Mr. Tito said. "It's a big change and it affects a lot of people's commute so it's definitely going to take some time. Please be patient. During construction, there may be some additional delays until the new gate is open. After that, I think things will start to settle down and everyone will get used to the new arrangement," he said. He anticipates some increased traffic at Gates 15A and 12A. "There will probably be some additional delays at those gates as drivers learn the new traffic patterns. During this transition period, Civil Engineering and Security Forces will be monitoring how traffic flows, so there may be further changes. If adjustments are required, we'll be ready to respond." The good thing about the project is that it takes three active gates -- existing gates 1A, 38A and 9A -- and combines them into the new Gate 1A, Mr. Tito pointed out. The existing personnel, divided among those three gates now, will be more focused on the new, larger gate. "So they'll be more efficient and have greater flexibility for bringing people in. That will also allow Security Forces to use those guards at different gates so if they think they need to increase the number of ID checkers at Gate 12A or 15A, Security Forces will be able to handle that," he said. The Air Force also plans to reconfigure Gates 15A, 16A and 26A, but it may be several years before those projects are developed.