Military Moves Swell Populations in 11 StatesEleven states are about to welcome hundreds of thousands of U.S. military personnel and their families as the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission recommendations take effect.
Eleven states are getting additional troops — Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, and Virginia. The population boost will create a need for everything from housing, roads, and schools to services like pizza parlors and dry cleaners.
The Fort Meade area of Maryland expects the troop shifts to generate 22,000 federal and private-sector jobs. Fayetteville, N.C., home of Fort Bragg, expects up to 25,000 new residents.
Columbus, Ga., Mayor Jim Wetherington met recently with the City Council to discuss a bond issue for roads and other needs, such as water and sewers, as Fort Benning anticipates possibly doubling its population.
"This is going to be a pretty big deal for us," Wetherington says. "We think we're going to be ready, but we've got a lot of work to do."
Source: USA Today, Larry Copeland (05/08/07)
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