The commute on and off Camp Lejeune is about to get a little easier.  Beginning Thursday, July 31, two inbound lanes starting at the intersection of Bell Fork Road and NC-24 and ending at Brewster Boulevard are scheduled to be open weekday mornings between 5:30 and 8 a.m. to authorized base personnel, while its two outbound lanes will be open 24/7.

During these weekday-morning periods, sentries will be posted at the new entrance to facilitate and control traffic flow onto base.  At 8 a.m., both the gate area and inbound lanes will close to accommodate ongoing construction.  Access to the new inbound lanes via Bougainville Road from Tarawa Terrace will also close at that time.

Non-DoD card holders must still go through Camp Lejeune's Main Gate Visitors Center to obtain a pass.

"The opening of the Wilson Boulevard Gate is significant in that it's the first part of a multi-phased effort to alleviate the traffic issue that has plagued Camp Lejeune for years," said Col. James W. Clark, deputy commander of Marine Corps Installations East - Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune.  "The commanding general has been absolutely committed to getting this new gate entry open as soon as possible and we couldn't be more excited for commuters who are going to find it a little easier getting to and from work – especially our hospital staff and all those who frequently use Brewster Boulevard."

The new base entry road network has been formally named Wilson Boulevard after General Louis Hugh Wilson, Jr., a World War II recipient of the Medal of Honor and 26th Commandant of the Marine Corps.  The additional 3.5-mile portion of Wilson Boulevard that will connect its commuters to Holcomb Boulevard and Mainside, is scheduled to be completed October 2015.  Future construction plans will also add a guard shack with overhead canopy and visitors' center.  Once construction is complete, more lanes will be open and sentries will be posted at all times.

The contract for the first phase of new road network construction aboard Camp Lejeune was awarded in July 2010.  When complete in October of next year, this vast network of new roads, interchanges, and lane-widening projects will encompass more than nine miles.

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