Construction gives Vance AFB facelift Published Jan. 11, 2007 By Col Mike Callan 71st Flying Training Wing Vance Air Force Base, Okla. -- Team Vance -- orange barrels and barricades continue to pop up basewide so let's review the "construction" projects underway! To start with, Phase One of our base housing modernization continues with earnest! As you approach the base on Fox Drive from Highway 81, you clearly notice our prime contractor (Hunt Inc.) busy demolishing our 54 homes behind the temporary fence. They've discovered some concrete support structures under each of our demolished home's foundations. These structures were designed to make the foundations incredibly strong ... and they worked! It will take a little more time to dig them up than we expected. Other than that, the project is on time and with good weather to come, we should make great progress in the next few months! Phase One of our Elam Road project (the main road that parallels the flight line) is almost complete. Concrete was poured last week and the contractor is finishing up work on the sidewalk and some sewer connections, but they should be complete soon, then on to Phase Two which will close the next "mid-slice" of road (reaching from just about the 32nd Flying Training Squadron to just prior to the base gas station). Expect the access to the flight line to change again and access to the affected buildings to be modified, but it's desperately needed to get Elam Road back to mint condition. The construction around the ops group building is picking up steam. The new parking lot in front of the building is being constructed as part of the Elam Road project. It will be complete about July 7. The other digging and trenching taking place all around the building is in support of the new thermal energy storage system. This system will significantly reduce our energy bill, but requires lots of digging. It should be done by July 30. The renovation of the Unaccompanied Officers' Quarters is going great. The first building is complete and the second is starting. This project will be ongoing for the next 18 months. We've completed the base perimeter fence upgrade to make our military home safer from terrorist attack. We continue to design Force Protection Enhancement projects to extend the main gates to the north, to increase our standoff distance and protect our critical infrastructure along Fox Drive. DynCorp Civil Engineer continues to be a "busy place" and we are relying on their expertise to design these projects to make Vance Air Force Base an even safer place to work and support our nation in producing qualified pilots for our military. Please continue to think safety in everything you do, and do the smart and safe thing! Enjoy your weekend!