Geary County Commissioner Alex Tyson said Tuesday that the Trooper Gate closure issue boils down to manpower and mission. He met recently with the Garrison Commander and his team on the subject.
The Army closure of the gate connecting Fort Riley with the north side of Junction City has been a source of irritation for county leaders. But following the meeting Tyson noted that the military officials reviewed the statistics that they ran for making the closure decision. He also explained that the Post does not have as much manpower so they would have to take Soldiers out of doing their jobs of preparing Soldiers ready for training and response missions. Also noted was that Trooper Gate is a two-lane entry while the Grant Ave. gate which is being utilized for traffic instead has four lanes.
Tyson noted the Army's mission is to defend the country and deployment is the number one mission of Fort Riley. Troops have to be trained. Also pointed out was that Grant Ave. needs some attention and work.
The Army has indicated that they continue to monitor traffic patterns and flow through all gates and would reassess the closure at a later date.