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NTTA Assist Rowlett SWAT Team The bulldozers are almost ready to begin clearing the route for the President George Bush Turnpike (PGBT) Eastern Extension. But not before the Rowlett Police Department SWAT team takes their best shot at training in three vacant houses sitting in the turnpike path, thanks to an agreement with the North Texas Tollway Authority.
The NTTA and the Rowlett Police Department have signed an agreement allowing the 12-officer team to use three homes for tactical training in the weeks and months before turnpike construction can get under way. The homes may be empty, but they hold tremendous value for the police department, said Lt. Steve Ferrie, the SWAT team commander.
“This is like gold to a SWAT team,” said Lt. Ferrie. “It’s all about training.”
The police department will have a set time period to train before construction crews gear up to begin their work on the Eastern Extension. The use of the vacant houses illustrates how the NTTA is always eager to assist its neighboring communities and their police departments, said Rick Herrington, NTTA’s Deputy Executive Director.
“Any time the NTTA can help its surrounding communities, it will strive to do so,” Herrington said. “This is a wonderful example of identifying something of mutual benefit to the agency and to the city of Rowlett. The NTTA is always seeking to be a good neighbor.”
Three houses, each about 50 years old, have been set aside by the NTTA for SWAT team training. The homes, each about 2,000 square feet in size, are located on the east side of the proposed turnpike in an area near State Highway 66. In the days leading up to the training, SWAT team members will conduct “surveillance” on the vacant homes to determine how best to enter them during the tactical drills. That surveillance helps the NTTA, because officers are keeping an eye on the vacant homes.
The first live training occurred on April 11. Once inside the home, they will encounter a “target,” or another officer posing as a threat to the SWAT team or others.
The training event could feature a hostage situation or other potential danger. SWAT team members may be required to deploy their “break and rake” tool, which allows them to quickly cut through doors and walls to defuse dangerous situations. In addition, both the SWAT team and the “target” will be armed with 9mm handguns that are loaded with paint cartridges. Live ammunition is not allowed.
While a little like paintball, getting hit with one of the paint cartridge rounds during SWAT training ensures that you don’t want to get hit again, Lt. Ferrie said.
“We can train all day long at the old fire station we used to use. But people get familiar with it,” he said. “With this, officers enter into a mixture of unknowns, so it is more like real life.”
As part of the agreement, the police department will only be allowed to conduct training in the homes between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. The department also must notify nearby neighbors that tactical training will be occurring, and it must replace any boards it removes from windows. The police department also will work with fire department-based SWAT team medics during the training, the lieutenant said.
None of the three training houses hold extraordinary value, so they will eventually be torn down to make way for the Eastern Extension. The NTTA and the city of Rowlett, however, have agreed to move the historic Coyle House homestead to Pecan Grove Park.
The police department will have several months to train before they must make way for bulldozers. The contract to build the first section of the Bush Turnpike Eastern Extension is scheduled to be awarded April 17, and construction could begin two to three months later.
The Eastern Extension, which has been identified as a major regional project for more than 40 years, will result in a new, six-lane facility from State Highway 78 to Interstate Highway (IH) 30. The 9.9-mile extension to the current 30.5-mile PGBT will run through eastern Dallas County and the cities of Garland, Rowlett, Sachse and Dallas.
The Eastern Extension project is made up of five separate construction projects, four of which are being managed by the NTTA. The Texas Department of Transportation is managing the fifth section, which extends 1.4 miles from the north bank of Lake Ray Hubbard south to IH 30, where a new interchange will be constructed. The $1 billion project is funded in part with a TxDOT toll equity grant of $160 million, which helps pay for various costs including right-of-way acquisition.
All five sections are scheduled to be under construction by the end of 2008, and all five sections are scheduled to open simultaneously in late 2011.
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