FORT RILEY– Increased security measures at Fort Riley are responsible for backing up traffic on east and westbound Interstate 70 near exit 301 in Geary County on Monday.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported cars were backed up westbound over a mile to the Kansas 114 Junction in Riley County.

Eastbound traffic was backed up for one half mile.

No traffic accidents were reported, but there were several instances of people pulling u-turns on the interstate, which is illegal.

The KHP is working with KDOT on additional traffic messages and placement of signboards to alert traffic of backups for the remainder of the week.

Increased security measures that went into effect on Friday at Fort Riley and bases around the nation will likely mean heightened vigilance and more random bag or vehicle checks according to officials.

Army Col. Steve Warren says the increase was not triggered by a specific event. He says it was due to a generally heightened threat environment, which would include the recent terror threat and attempted attack surrounding a provocative cartoon contest in Texas.

-The Associated Press contributed to this report