Joint Base Lewis-McChord to expand by thousands

Joint Base Lewis-McChord to expand by thousands
Submitted by Associated Press on Saturday, September 11th, 04:52pm
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The Army says it plans to add up to nearly 5,700 more active-duty soldiers at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

The Tacoma News Tribune reports that the additional troops would arrive through 2015, boosting the local economy while placing further demands on roads, housing and schools. The number of active-duty soldiers at the base would approach 36,000, a number that does not include Air Force or other service members on the newly consolidated base.

The Army projects that more than 8,600 family members would accompany the new soldiers, according to the final environmental impact statement for the plans.

The growth at the base has been dramatic in the past decade. In the late 1990s, a master plan for the base assumed it would have 18,000 to 20,000 troops. In 2007, Fort Lewis had some 23,000 soldiers.

U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Belfair, said in a statement Friday that the release of the environmental impact study "represents a clear signal of the strategic importance of this joint service installation" and is good news for the country's security and the area's economy.

The study reviews the potential for having the additional troops at the base, including up to 1,000 new combat service support soldiers and up to 2,800 soldiers assigned to a combat aviation brigade.

The combat aviation brigade would be the most significant addition, if approved. It would include 110 helicopters, including 24 attack helicopters; about 700 vehicles; and associated buildings. It would support three Stryker brigades and other units already based at Lewis-McChord.

Dicks said in his statement that the Army would draft a separate environmental impact study for stationing the brigade at Lewis-McChord and Fort Carson, Colo. He was optimistic about Lewis-McChord's chances in landing the unit. A decision is expected early next year.

"Our reading from the Army is positive on the entire package," Dicks said.

Construction projects and more live-fire training and maneuvers would be needed to accommodate the growth, the study says, and those would increase noise at the base.

In addition, traffic on Interstate 5 near the base, which is already congested, might jump 5 percent. The number of vehicles using Lewis-McChord gates during rush hours could increase 19 percent.

And, the study said, an estimated 2,770 more children would enter local schools, primarily in the Clover Park and Steilacoom Historical school districts. A Pentagon spending bill working its way through Congress includes nearly $85 million to build four new elementary schools at Lewis-McChord, served by Clover Park.

This article originally appeared on Lakewood News


Source;

http://tacoma.komonews.com/content/joint-base-lewis-mcchord-expand-thousands


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