Wright-Patterson’s gate 1B to remain open for morning entry
Employees say access saves time and money.
Long a request of many Area B workers, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base’s gate 1B, off Springfield Street in Riverside, continues to be open for two hours in the morning.
That should continue “as long as data supports,” a representative of the base’s 88th Air Base Wing said recently.
“To help ease the morning traffic onto Area B, Gate 1B is open from 7 to 9 a.m.,” Stacey Geiger, a spokeswoman for the 88th Air Base Wing, said in an email. “This started back in March and the goal is to keep the gate open during those hours as long as data supports.”
Gates 22B and 19B are still available for employees and visitors heading to Area B, she said. The latter gate is open 24-7.
In a test run last May, gate 1B was open temporarily for limited hours. Comments from Facebook users welcomed the move at the time.
“This definitely cuts back the miles and time to and from work, please keep it open permanently,” Facebook user Todd Finley said on Facebook at the time.
The 88th Air Base Wing is the unit responsible for security and infrastructure on the sprawling Air Force base.
Area B on Wright-Patt is home to the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, many Air Force Research Laboratory labs and offices, the Air Force Institute of Technology and many other missions. Nearby, the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force is accessible via gate 28B, also off Springfield Street.
The working population across the large Air Force base continues to grow, and is approaching 40,000 employees, military and civilian. Wright-Patterson is the largest concentration of employment in one location in Ohio.
“We continue to expand and grow here at WrightPatt,” Col. Travis Pond, deputy commander of the 88th Air Base Wing, said last week. “The latest numbers are upwards of 38,000 people who live and work and continue to execute the nation’s mission from here.”