HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Redstone Arsenal officials are changing gate operations during the morning commute to address increased traffic as more organizations require employees to return to onsite work.
Starting on Monday, July 22, Gate 10 on Patton Road will open from 5:30 to 10 a.m. on weekdays to accommodate morning drivers. During this time, Gate 8, located at the intersection of Drake Avenue and Patton Road, will temporarily close. At 10 a.m., Gate 10 will close, and Gate 8 will reopen, remaining operational until 9:30 p.m. every weekday.
According to Col. Brian Cozine, Redstone Arsenal's Garrison Commander, these adjustments aim to help congestion along Patton Road and Drake Avenue, where traffic has been increasingly backed up due to growing workforce numbers returning to onsite duties.
"We want to have Gate 10 starting on Monday from 5:30 until 10, and then gate 8 will open up from 10 to 9:30 every day. Normal weekend hours will stay, maintain the gate gate at that time," said Col. Cozine.
With projections suggesting about 43,000 people coming to the arsenal this month, drivers should expect more activity. Also, Redstone Arsenal is getting ready for a big military practice to check how well they can respond to emergencies. This exercise, scheduled for next week, will simulate responses to various hazardous scenarios, including tornadoes and mass casualties.
"We can expect people on the installation and off the installation to see an increased amount of activity as we are being assessed. And that may be, for example, you may see HEMSI or maybe a local fire department assisting us on the installation as we exhaust all of our resources. And that's really to help us benefit and show that this is a partnership across Redstone Arsenal in our community that will be able to solve all of these activities or incidents that may occur," Col. Cozine added.
If you get a message saying 'Exercise, Exercise, Exercise,' it means they are starting to test how well they can respond to emergencies at Redstone Arsenal.