Report says Pentagon should help traffic at bases

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The Pentagon should foot more of the bill for fixing traffic problems around military bases that are receiving thousands of new workers under a national realignment plan, a report commissioned by Congress said Monday.

Worsening traffic around some of the bases could be harmful to the military, which has previously left local and state governments to pay for most off-base transportation improvements, according to recommendations in the report by the National Research Council's Transportation Research Board.

The report looked at six large bases: Fort Meade and the National Naval Medical Center in Maryland, Fort Belvoir in Virginia, Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington, Florida's Eglin Air Force Base and Fort Bliss, Texas.

They are among 18 domestic bases slotted to expand as others are closed or reduced in size under the periodic realignment. The current plan was approved by Congress in 2005 and is gradually being implemented.

The report warned that realignment and other sources of military growth, including troops returning from two wars, are already causing "severe" transportation problems at most of the six facilities studied.

"The resulting traffic delays will impose substantial costs on surrounding communities and may even be harmful to the military," the report said.

But the Defense Department considers its responsibilities for off-base transportation needs to be limited, the report said.

To help ease congestion, the report recommended that the Defense Department expand its only program to help pay for transportation infrastructure off-base. The Defense Access Roads program currently requires that traffic double due to base expansion for a metropolitan area to be eligible.

The Pentagon largely leaves local and state authorities responsible for off-base transportation needs, even if decisions by the Pentagon increase congestion, the panel found.

"This policy is unrealistic," it said.

Communities that benefit economically from the military should pay their fair share, and the military and local communities should improve communication in planning infrastructure improvements, the report said. The report also noted that the recession has reduced tax revenues far below levels needed to maintain roads for growth unrelated to the military.

Congress should consider a special appropriation or reallocation of federal stimulus money to pay for near-term improvements in the communities most severely affected by base realignment, the report recommended.