VIENNA TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WKBN) – There is a big development at the Youngstown Air Reserve Station in Vienna. An $11 million project is underway for a new front gate and visitor center.

After going through the talking stages over the last seven years, the ceremony to kick off the project was a long time coming for those involved.

“This is a culmination of a lot of hard work, a lot of contributions from the community,” said Colonel Mike Maloney, commander of the 910th Airlift Wing.

The ground was finally broken for a new main gate facility at the air station. Money was appropriated for the work in 2019, but there were details to work out before construction could begin.

“The big concern was the land. There was a big project to get the land bought and then deeded over to the U.S. Air Force to use,” Maloney said.

The project is being overseen by the Army Corps of Engineers.

“We’re responsible for the design and construction of the project, and then at the time we complete that project, we’ll turn it over to the base and they’ll have it for operational use,’ said Christie Mitchell, with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The facility will be built closer to the intersection of King Graves Road and Route 193 and moves public access further away from the core of the base to meet Pentagon requirements for security while also improving access in and out of the base to reduce potential traffic congestion on nearby roads.

“Give us better visibility on who’s coming to the base. It’s more advanced for the vehicle screening. It’s better protection for the security forces that are manning the gate,” Maloney said.

Since 9/11, there have been security enhancements made at the base to deal with the ever-growing threat of terrorism.

“The threat, frankly, is bigger than it was back in the day, so we have to shift with the times and increase our security awareness,” Maloney said.

The new facility should be completed by August of next year.

Also announced Tuesday is that the air station will be getting the C-130J aircraft in July.

The new C-130Js look similar to the C-130Hs, only sleeker and more modern. The C-130Js can climb faster and higher, fly farther at a higher cruise speed, and take off and land in a shorter distance.

“We just flight-tested the spray function on the new J. You can imagine it has a different power set. It has different engines. It has different propellers and it’s longer. We needed to make sure the J model was capable of doing what the H model was,” Maloney said.

Delivery of the new planes will come in segments with all of them being delivered to the base by the end of 2025.