Henry Gate on the Fort Myer portion of Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall will re-open to pedestrians who are registered Department of Defense identification card holders Aug. 1.
"Soldiers will have access to greater Arlington," said JBM-HH Police Chief William Johnson of the gate reopening.
The gate will be operational 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for authorized personnel.
Henry Gate closed in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks as part of an effort to increase security on the installation. Its reopening is the result of recommendations from a study by Mobility Lab and Arlington Transportation Partners and a public-to-public partnership between the joint base and Arlington County, said Lavonda Lessane of the JBM-HH Plans, Analysis and Integration Office.
"Arlington County Transportation was invited to inform the Soldiers of the transportation options available here in Arlington County and during their conversation, Henry Gate reopening was the main concern for the Soldiers living on base," she said.
Overwhelming support for reopening Henry Gate was found in the survey of 467 JBM-HH residents and those who commute to the installation conducted by Mobility Lab and Arlington Transportation Partners, Lessane said.
The survey also revealed that reopening Henry Gate pedestrians would give service members and families who live on base greater ability to use car-sharing services, providing them with greater access to local dining and entertainment options.
"Opening Henry Gate will open up a whole new world to the Soldiers, civilians and families who live and work here," one survey respondent wrote. "Metrobus is right outside the gate and other forms of card rides could pick up and drop off."
In order to access the installation via Henry Gate, Mike Presley of the JBM-HH Directorate of Emergency Services, said authorized pedestrians would have to swipe their Common Access Card and then place their right forefinger into a fingerprint scanner.
The gate will remain closed to vehicular traffic in order to prevent additional congestion along Arlington Boulevard and Pershing Drive.
The research and other collaborative work that led to the decision to reopen the gate would not have been possible without the combined efforts of the Arlington County, consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton and the Northern Virginia Regional Commission's Director of Military Affairs Peggy Tadej, said Lessane.
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