Crews are working in communities around Fort Knox to widen streets and highways and build houses and schools to prepare for an expected influx of troops and civil service employees.

Governor Steve Beshear says he's pleased with the progress being made to prepare for the arrival of some 2,500 additional soldiers and 2,000 civilian workers.

The state appropriated $100 million earlier this year to help pay for expanding public infrastructure to help accommodate the growth.

Beshear likens the Fort Knox expansion to the 1987 opening of Georgetown's Toyota Motor Co. assembly plant, which triggered major growth in other job sectors, including construction, retail trade and transportation.

State Rep. Tim Moore of Elizabethtown, said Kentucky stands to gain far more than it is spending to accommodate the Fort Knox expansion.