Fort Indiantown Gap (FTIG) announced on Monday, Dec. 13, that preliminary work on the first of two planned access control points has officially begun.

The active military base covers about 33 square miles, the vast majority of which is in Lebanon County, with the remainder in Dauphin County.

Read More: Once again, The Gap is the nation’s largest National Guard training center by training volume

FTIG officials said that constructions crews have begun staging equipment and installing sedimentation controls at the future location of the installation’s main gate and visitors center, kicking off stage one of a multi-year, three-staged project scheduled to be complete by 2024.

Read More: Construction of checkpoint gates to begin in July at Fort Indiantown Gap

“Fort Indiantown Gap is one of the only installations in the Department of Defense without access control points,” said Col. Lane Marshall, garrison commander, in a release. “These ACPs will bring us in line with other installations and help us keep our people and property safe and secure.”

FTIG officials said that the main gate and visitors center will be located on Fisher Avenue near the intersection of Biddle Road. Excavation will begin around Dec. 27 and construction of the gate and visitors center is expected to take approximately one year to complete.

An east gate will be placed on Fisher Avenue near the intersection with Quartermaster Road, with work planned to begin in the second half of 2022 and expected to take about a year.

“We’re really excited about the changes coming to the installation, and we want to ensure everyone is kept well-informed as we move forward with this project,” Marshall said in the release. “The installation will be accessible moving forward, but the way you access the installation will change.”

FTIG officials said that the gates will not affect access to Indiantown Gap National Cemetery, Memorial Lake State Park, Marquette Lake, the Keystone Conference Center or Fort Indiantown Gap’s hunting and fishing areas.

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