Report: DoD should help solve BRAC traffic problems

A Congressionally ordered report out Monday finds that many military bases receiving new personnel as a result of base realignments are already suffering \"seve...

By Jared Serbu
Reporter
Federal News Radio

A Congressionally-mandated report released Monday said the Defense Department should take on more responsibility for funding local transportation projects when the Pentagon moves large numbers of workers into a community.

The report, prepared by the National Research Council’s Transportation Research Board, examined congestion issues that arise when the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process moves DoD employees en-masse into urban areas that are already saturated with traffic.

The board used case studies of six large bases to produce its findings, including three in the Washington metro area: Fort Meade and the National Naval Medical Center in Maryland and Fort Belvoir in Virginia. Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state, and Florida’s Eglin Air Force Base and Fort Bliss, Texas also were examined.

The board found that DoD generally considers transportation infrastructure improvements to be the responsibility of state and local officials, even when the Pentagon’s own decisions are the cause of local congestion.

“This policy is unrealistic for congested metropolitan transportation networks,” the report stated.

It also found DoD base commanders generally did not consult adequately with local planning officials when making their own facility expansion plans. At Fort Belvoir, for example, the committee reported that DoD made plans to increase access to the base itself by upgrading on-base roads, but did not consult with state and local agencies on traffic impacts when it updated its long-range master plan.

By the time the BRAC process is completed this year, Fort Belvoir will host more personnel than the Pentagon – 43,500.

The report warned that the early stages of base realignment and other sources of military growth, including troops returning from two wars, already are causing “severe” transportation problems at most of the six facilities studied.

“Although the committee cannot predict the consequences, congestion could be sufficiently severe to affect the military and surrounding communities negatively by preventing personnel from reaching work within acceptable commute times,” the report said.

To help ease congestion, the report recommended that the Defense Department expand its only program to help pay for transportation infrastructure off-base. The Defense Access Roads program currently requires that traffic double in metropolitan areas from base expansion before funding becomes available – and in any case, the funds are not eligible for transit projects.

Communities that benefit economically from the military should pay their fair share, and the military and local communities should improve communication in planning infrastructure improvements, the report said.

Congress should consider a special appropriation or reallocation of federal stimulus money to pay for near-term improvements in the communities most severely affected by base realignment, the report recommended.

At Fort Meade, at least 5,700 additional workers are expected to arrive by September because of base realignment, with up to 13,300 others arriving due to growth at the National Security Agency and increased contractor presence at the base. The report cited $786 million in needed highway improvements that do not have funding around Fort Meade.

“Extreme congestion could occur on state and county roads in and around Fort Meade as new employees arrive at the base over the next few years,” the report said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

(Copyright 2011 by FederalNewsRadio.com. All Rights Reserved.)

TAG: DoD | transportation | BRAC | Fort Belvoir | Fort Meade | Bethesda National Naval Medical Center | National Research Council | Jared Serbu

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