The Pine Bluff Arsenal took another step in its revitalization with the groundbreaking of a $24.6-million access control point at its Plainview Gate on Monday (Oct. 19).

Sens. John Boozman and Tom Cotton, both R-Ark., part of the congressional delegation that helped fund the addition of military operations at the Arsenal, took part in the celebration under a tent just outside the existing gate.

“Pine Bluff Arsenal has a great potential, just like it has a great past,” Cotton said. “It needed investment in its structure. This gate complex is gonna be a step in the right direction to bring more investment like the Hanwha (Defense USA) investment that brings $2.2 billion into the region and brings a lot of new jobs. We hope that’s going to be the first of many happy announcements in the future.”

Construction of the gate on East Hoadley Road from White Hall is expected to begin in 2027 and be completed in 2029. It comes weeks after Hanwha Defense USA ceremonially opened its operations at the U.S. Army installation. Hanwha is building a $1.3-billion munitions campus.

“We had been working on this a number of years,” Boozman said. “We’re replacing a unit that’s been around since (1941). I think it just shows how serious the delegation views this and the Army views this. As we go forward and put a lot of infrastructure in this, it’s good for the area, good for the state and very important to national security.”

Cotton visited the Arsenal on the first day of early voting in Arkansas. He is running for a third term in the Senate against Democrat Hallie Shoffner and Libertarian Jeff Wadlin. Election Day is Nov. 3.

Cotton added he was pleased to work with U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) and Boozman to secure funding for the $24,634,370 project. Ross Group Construction Corp. of Tulsa was awarded the contract. Westerman is running for a seventh term against Democrat James Russell.

“I think the Army has neglected the Arsenal for too many years,” said Cotton, a former captain in the Army infantry. “We have a munitions crisis in this country, and private industry plays a vital role, but it can’t do that alone. The Army needs its organic industrial base, its arsenals and depots and ammunition plants. The case I made to the Army for years — and I’m glad they finally listened — is that the Arsenal is part of the solution. The Army is not a problem.”

The Pine Bluff Arsenal had eliminated obsolete weapons in 2010. The Army had strongly considered closing the base until Westerman, Cotton and Boozman wrote a letter to then-Army Secretary Dan Driscoll directing him to provide a report on how the Arsenal would be used within the Army’s organic industrial base, a collection of government- and contractor-operated facilities for military operations.

Army Commander Col. Matthew Mason said a few design updates are expected before construction begins. He said the gate will be a military complex with a new pass ID and badging facility and multiple lanes to support inbound shipments.

“Today’s a great day,” Mason said. “At the end of the day, it’s all about keeping the momentum going and telling our story. That’s all we can do at the Pine Bluff Arsenal, tell our story and what we’ve done in the past, but, more importantly, what we want to do in the future. That message and that narrative is really resonating with senior leaders who come to Pine Bluff and see we have capabilities to expand. We look forward to the next year or so and seeing what Pine Bluff can do for the joint warfighter.”

Cotton said the recent developments will help the base build a new munitions stockpile that he said will not only keep the U.S. safe but provide high-paying jobs in Jefferson County.

“The nice thing is that the facilities are good,” Boozman said. “There needs to be a little bit of work on some of them, and yet there is a tremendous ability to expand here. When you do that — again, it’s about national security — it’s also about increasing jobs. These are good-paying jobs. There’s a lot we can be proud of.”

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