Fort Belvoir to open new gate Monday
Fort Belvoir will open a new gate for defense workers at Telegraph Road and Beulah Street on Monday.
Most of the 20,000 people who work at Fort Belvoir come from south of the Occoquan River, and in August, the base closed 20 access points to step up security, as did the entire Army, in light of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and terrorist attacks against military barracks in Saudi Arabia in 1996, two U.S. embassies in 1998, and the USS Cole prior to the Sept. 11 attacks.
This latest gate change is meant to ease traffic congestion around the base, which non-base commuters had used to bypass portions of U.S. 1.
Fort Belvoir is a major administrative support base for the military, housing more than 100 different organizations.
Officials from the base, the Virginia Department of Transportation, offices of Sen. John W. Warner, R-Va., and Reps. James P. Moran, D-8th District, and Tom Davis, R-11th District, and Fairfax County formed a Transportation Resolution Team that suggested the entrance that will “go a long way toward reducing congestion on roads around Fort Belvoir,” a joint press release stated.
Another benefit will be greater access to the businesses north of the installation during the workday, officials said.
The gate at Telegraph Road will be open on weekdays only from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. and closed weekends and holidays, as are the hours of the gate near the intersection of Woodlawn Road and U.S. 1.
Only privately owned vehicles that display the Department of Defense registration decal will be allowed to enter or exit through the Telegraph gate. Drivers still need to show proper identification.
Temporary visitor passes are not accepted at the new gate but at other base gates.