By Det.1 /444th MPAD Roadwork project promises valuable service for base, training for 160th
By Spc. James Pernol
The 160th Engineers were hard at work on the Dover Air Force Base this weekend repairing a key road. This project will take about two years to complete on drill weekends.
The Army will do everything but lay the asphalt, which they will hire an outside contractor to complete. The road will be about a mile long and eleven feet wide when finished. It will consist of ten inches of crusher-run, which is a mixture of fine sand and dirt, then finish with two inches of hot mix asphalt.
This usually would be a project for the Air Force, but they have offered the Army the job training while the Air Force provides the fuel and food. By handing the job over to the Army it saves the Air Force money, and allows us training time with equipment.
This weekend the 160th also had two other projects going on around the state with a platoon in Milford laying a parking lot, and a platoon in DE City repairing a road. Between each job the platoons will be rotating so that each soldier gains the experience needed at each job site. "At any one time their are about 80 people involved working around the state," said Staff Sgt. Robert E. Walker, of Newark.
Last drill the 160th was involved in a "culvert project" at the Air Base, which is laying a round pipe into the ground under a road. This had to be done all at one time because the Security Police needed regular access to the road. "We worked 23 hours straight to get it done," Staff Sgt. Robert E. Walker stated, which included the soldiers putting in volunteer time.