Grants to Improve Walter Reed Access, Aid Schools on Bases

American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Dec. 11, 2012 – The Department of Defense today announced five grants from the Office of Economic Adjustment, including an $18.3 million grant to the Maryland Department of Transportation’s State Highway Administration to improve access to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. The department also announced a $35,247,240 grant to Geary County Unified School District Number 475 to replace Fort Riley Middle School at Fort Riley, Kan.; a $18,070,606 grant to Vernon Parish School Board to replace South Fort Polk Elementary School at Fort Polk, La.; and a $57,161,689 grant to Sierra Sands Unified School District to replace Murray Middle School and to expand Burroughs High School at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, Calif. The grant to Maryland will manage a $23.1 million project consisting of $18.3 million in grant funds and other funding of $4.8 million, to construct the Maryland Route 185-Connecticut Avenue and Jones Bridge Road/Kensington Parkway intersection improvement project. The project improves transportation access to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Geary County Unified School District Number 475 in Junction City, Kan., will manage a $41,961,000 project, consisting of $35,247,240 in grant funds and $6,713,760 in non-federal funds, to demolish the existing Fort Riley Middle School and replace it with a new 720-student school serving grades six through eight. Vernon Parish School District in Leesville, La., will manage a $21,144,931 project, consisting of $18,070,606 grant funds and non-federal funds of $3,074,325, to replace the existing South Fort Polk Elementary School with a new 875-student school serving grades one through four. Sierra Sands Unified School District in Ridgecrest, Calif., will manage a $39,542,838 project, consisting of $31,634,270 grant funds and non-federal funds of $7,908,568, to demolish the existing Murray Middle School and to replace it with a new 610-student school serving grades six through eight. The district will also manage a $31,909,274 project, consisting of $25,527,419 grant funds and $6,381,855 in non-federal funds, to renovate and expand the existing 1,461-student Burroughs High School serving grades nine through twelve. Both schools are located at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, Calif.