At Aviano, one gate opens, another closes

AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy — The morning commute to the home of the 31st Fighter Wing just got a bit better for some drivers and worse for others.

The long-awaited gate for Area 1 — where schools, medical facilities and the base chapel are located — opened on Monday. It had been closed for more than a year as part of a $6.1 million project handled by Italian firm SKE Srl to improve security and ease morning traffic.

Three entry lanes now greet visitors after they enter the exterior gate, with the goal of reducing the dozens of cars that often lined up to get in. Traffic — especially in the morning as parents drop off children for school and others head to work — has often backed up through a nearby traffic circle, creating additional disruptions to city traffic patterns.

The temporary gate located near the medical clinic has closed.

On Tuesday, one of three gates to the flightline area stopped allowing privately owned vehicles, or POVs.

The LVIS gate, which had allowed POVs to enter for a few hours before work, will now be used exclusively by commercial vehicles until Sept. 15, according to Maj. Rachel Salpietra, a wing spokeswoman.

POVs will still be able to exit through that gate for a few hours in the afternoon.

The move was made to allow contractors to access the base earlier in the day when temperatures are cooler, Salpietra said. There are numerous construction projects on base. Higher temperatures in the summer trigger safety measures limiting the amount of work that can be done. Previously, commercial vehicles only entered after lanes were closed to POV traffic.

Drivers who previously entered the base that way must now drive a few miles farther to enter the main gate and may face traffic delays, especially at the intersection where the SP31 ends at the SP7 (commonly known as the AP Highway).

No further information from the wing was available at press time.