Tuesday, October 24, 2006 - A ground-breaking ceremony was held Monday marking the beginning of a 2.6 billion dollar expansion program at Fort Bliss. The expansion, built by the corps of engineers, will be the size of a small city and will take more than 5 years to complete. It will house more than 19,000 soldiers who are returning to Fort Bliss... and just in time. Officials tell NewsChannel 9 that the program is much needed because the army is restructuring and bringing people back from overseas.

The program will cover more than 2,500 acres, with more than 300 new buildings, including aircraft hangers, barracks, dining facilities and rooms for storage. In addition, fifteen training ranges will also be added. Fort Bliss is comprised of more than one million acres.