Fort Carson officials plan to open a new gate in mid-November near the southern edge of Fountain.

Post officials expect to open Gate 19 on Nov. 14, said Loran Doane, a post spokesman — offering a new southern-most access point for commuters along I-25.

The project, which cost more than $1 million, improved the gate and a dirt road off Interstate 25 exit 128, which feeds into Fountain’s Santa Fe Avenue.

It comes about seven years after massive improvements were made to Gate 20, which provides access from Mesa Ridge Parkway on the northern end of Fountain.

The Gate 20 project helped ease most congestion along the interstate, said Fountain Mayor Jeri Howells. She viewed the Gate 19 as a chance to help revitalize the city’s southern end, which is an urban renewal area.

“Of course the more traffic we can get down to that exit, the more commercial development we can get started there,” Howells said. “It’s an area of our city that needs to be enhanced, modernized.”

“It’s been a long time coming.”

It also comes as soldiers are expected to flood the area near Butts Army Airfield in the coming months.

Flights carrying soldiers from the the 4th Brigade Combat Team of the 4th Infantry Division are expected to begin arriving in early November, with homecoming ceremonies stretching through mid-December. The brigade’s headquarters are located just west of the airfield.

Construction crews also are working on nearly $200 million in projects to house the post’s new combat aviation brigade at Butts Army Airfield. The 2,700-soldier brigade is expected to have 113 helicopters and 600 to 700 vehicles.

When the Gate 19 project was announced, officials planned to use about $750,000 to improve the gate while spending another $300,000 to $400,000 for materials to make primitive improvements to the dirt road, said Dee McNutt, a post spokeswoman.

Half to three-quarters of the two brigades’ soldiers are expected to use the gate, said Col. David Grosso, the post’s garrison commander.

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