20 July 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Starting Monday morning, McConnell Air Force Base is closing the main gate to base housing for improvements, which is expected to alter traffic patterns around the base and along South Rock Road.
The current housing gate is just east of Rock Road and Arnold Court. Starting at 7 a.m. Monday, July 24, all housing traffic will be routed through a security gate at 31st Street and S. Arnold Boulevard.
A McConnell spokesperson said the change will shift the traffic volume at the usual housing gate to Rock Road intersections at Pawnee Street, 31st Street and 47th Street.
But, the traffic will not be as simple as heading south and then east and vice versa, because there is no traffic signal at Rock and 31st.
McConnell Air Force Base provided a map showing how airmen can get from housing to the base.
(Courtesy McConnell Air Force Base)
The shift to the 31st Street housing gate could mean delays as drivers adjust to the new route and traffic volume at peak times.
If someone in base housing wants to get to 31st South and Rock Road or a place south of there, officials recommend heading east to Webb Road first. Then they can go to either Pawnee or 47th Street South to access Rock Road since those intersections have traffic signals.
“Patience is key. Stick to the detour and adjust your travel time,” Jon Murphy, 22nd Air Refueling Wing occupational safety manager, said. “As we work to improve our facilities, there will be traffic delays. Plan and be a part of the solution, not the cause of a problem!”
The 31st Street housing gate will be open at all hours until the improvements are finished to the other entrance, possibly by the end of November.
“The work on the main gate to McConnell base housing includes repairs and security improvements to the road to include a mill/overlay of the existing road, construction of speed tables to slow traffic, widening of the road at the guard shack checkpoint, installation of a sunshade over the incoming lane next to the guard shack, new rolling gates, and new or revised traffic signs for those entering and exiting the housing gate,” John Schwartzbeck, Engineering Flight chief with the 22nd Civil Engineering Squadron, said in a news release.