Security barrier coming to Grant Avenue

Published: Friday, October 19, 2007 9:55 AM CDT
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Provost Marshal's Office

Grant Avenue will be partially closed Nov. 7-21 to accommodate the installation of a vehicle arrest security barrier.

The barrier is part of the Army's Standard Design for access control points and its installation will go a long way to bringing Grant Access Control Point in compliance with Army standards.

The system is a Ground Retractable Automobile Barrier, or GRAB, manufactured by Universal Safety Response of Franklin, Tenn. In contrast with traditional vehicle barriers like retractable wedges or bollards, the GRAB system is a net barrier and is designed to "catch" a threat vehicle as apposed to creating an immovable "wall," which makes it a safer solution. This is the same system that has been installed at many other military installations, including Fort Bragg, N.C.; Fort Hood, Texas; and Fort Riley, Kan.

Once installed, the system rests flush with the existing roadway and will not interfere with daily traffic. If a threat vehicle is detected entering post through the access control point, the system will be deployed and effectively close Grant Avenue to all traffic until the suspect vehicle is either cleared or taken into custody.

During construction, Grant Avenue will be reduced to two lanes of traffic. To accommodate for the lane restrictions on Grant, the Sherman Access Control Point will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.