U.S. Military Base Expansion

Construction is under way at Camp Ederle, a U.S. Army base in Vicenza. The post is the headquarters of the Southern European Task Force as well as the 173rd Airborne Brigade combat team. A 100-acre portion of a former civilian airfield, Dal Molin, will be the site of barracks for 1,200 soldiers and office space for four brigade battalions being transferred from Germany. A joint venture of two Italian contractors, C.M.C. Di Ravenna and Consorzio Cooperative Construzioni, Bologna, have already driven 800 concrete piles, which eventually will be topped with 25 multistory buildings and car parks. Simultaneously, Italian teams are clearing unexploded World War II bombs from the nearby airfield. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2012. The expansion has faced significant opposition by local citizens.