Tinker AFB, Okla. -- It's a new year and Tinker Air Force Base will have some new looks for 2011 through completed construction projects and new developments that are in progress.

The Tinker Gate on Air Depot Boulevard will officially be re-opened on Feb. 1. As one of the busiest traffic gates at Tinker, construction began in May 2010 and it has been out of commission for nine months.

"It's going to revert back to being the main gate," said Mark Nabywaniec, project manager in the 72nd Civil Engineering Group. "It will have a much nicer traffic pattern," he said.

The $4.5 million gate makeover was the fifth and final gate to be remodeled with a new barrier system that affirms safety and security on the base. This includes a new traffic weave pattern that slows traffic down prior to the final denial barrier.

"The barrier is a protective measure to stop gate runners both entering and leaving the base," Mr. Nabywaniec said. "The barriers are designed to stop a 12,000 pound truck at 50 miles per hour. It allows the guard the time necessary to identify a hostile and take appropriate defensive actions. It's all about enhancing security of Tinker."

The new Tinker Gate also will be equipped with a lighted canopy designed to look like a wing.

The guardhouse interior has been renovated and improved, and there are new individual black iron gates for each lane. It also is conveniently located by a new visitor's information center.

"A new traffic circle puts the VIC in the center of the circle and should provide for a smoother flow in and out of the gate," Mr. Nabywaniec said.

Once opened, the Tinker Gate will minimize heavy traffic flow at the Eaker Gate as well.
The Lancer Gate also recently re-opened so employees on the east and southeast sides of the base can now enter though that gate again.

Another prominent project in the works is a new medical facility across from Gott Gate, between Codding Road and the Hill Conference Center. It will primarily be operated by the 72nd Medical Group and the 507th Medical Squadron.

"It's going to replace the old hospital in December 2011," said Randy Abbott, engineer technician in the 72nd CEC.

The new medical clinic has been in progress since June 2009 and is 62 percent complete. The $49 million project will result in a 171,000 square-foot-building, which currently takes at least 112 construction employees daily to man.

The multi-bay hangar, located on the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center Ramp just west of building 2280, is a construction project that began a little more than a year ago and is scheduled for completion in January 2012.

"It's going to be a very nice facility," said Neal Hector, engineer technician in the 72nd CEC.

Being a $42 million project, it will be converted to a three-bay hangar and will be equipped to hold up to five planes. There are at least 55 employees working on the construction of the hangar each day.

Aside from these three construction projects, there are currently nearly 60 other developments totaling about $50 million under way on the base as well.

"We do this to repair and maintain the buildings and grounds for the betterment of our military," Mr. Nabywaniec said.