New front gate, taxiway projects planned for 10-year horizon

  • Published
  • By Geoff Janes
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs Office
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  The Ministry of Defence acquired land in 2007 that is planned to be used for a longer taxiway and a new front gate at RAF Mildenhall in the next 10 years.

Use of the land - which is located on the north and south sides of the A-1101 - has been discussed for several years. The first project involves the parcel at the north end of the runway which will provide room for the Air Force to lengthen the taxiway.

The most important benefit of extending the taxiway is that it will allow increased capability for aircraft operations. It will allow more room for aircraft with greater fuel loads, more cargo for Air Mobility Command Missions, and it will decrease runway downtime by eliminating extensive taxiing.

According to Lt. Col. Tom Svoboda, 100th Civil Engineer Squadron commander, the project will also cut down the stress on the runway and aircraft.

The project will extend the current taxiway to the end of the runway - 1,000 feet farther than is currently used - providing pilots enough room to make a longer, wider turn. It will also give them more of the runway to use during inclement weather. But, prior to constructing the $10 million project, a request must go through a zoning process.

"Last year the land was turned over to the MoD, and right now it's with Forest Heath," he said. "We're currently building a meter-high wooden fence around the property to designate it as part of RAF Mildenhall."

The project doesn't signal new operations or aircraft.

"We're not looking at any kind of mission changes or increases at Mildenhall," he said. "This is just an effort to make better use of the land that's there. It won't change the flight path; it won't change the flight patterns. So, there won't be effects on the local area due to our flight operations."

The second project intended for the newly acquired land is a new front gate. According to Colonel Svoboda, the current front gate was formerly a service entrance which was set up as a force protection measure following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

The conceptual plan for the new front gate involves rerouting the A-1101.

"We've got enough land there now to build a new main gate that will allow us to have a visitors' center separate from our large vehicle inspection area," he said. "What would have to happen for that - if it's approved by Forest Heath and Suffolk County Council - would be to reroute the A-1101 so that it goes down the north side of that parcel rather than cutting the parcel of land in half.

"This is all an ambitious plan," he added, "and with that, we would have to reroute and change the boundary fence and replace the wooden fence with a NATO-standard chain link and barbed-wire fence around the new base perimeter."

There's good news for motorists who are concerned about the change in traffic flow after the project is complete.

"Once the construction is done, it shouldn't have too much of an impact (on traffic) at all," Colonel Svoboda said. "The road will just be at a little different location. Everyone will still have the same access to Mildenhall, Eriswell and Beck Row through roads and roundabouts as they do now."

For base motorists, the colonel said it could bring a welcome change.

"If we are actually able to go through with this, I see it possibly cutting down on congestion and traffic going onto the base," he said. "That change will allow motorists not entering RAF Mildenhall to bypass front gate traffic, and it should cut down on congestion. The new front gate will also boost security for the base."

Another step in the construction involves environmental issues.

"We're working closely with all the British regulatory environmental agencies here," the colonel said. "We'll examine the area, the archaeological surveys will be done just like before any construction that we do. Suffolk County Council comes out and does a great job supporting us, and we support them. We look at any kind of agricultural concerns and water run-off, so there will be a lot of environmental concerns as we go about the project."