Checkpoint upgrades plan upsets Tubac

The groundbreaking on upgrades for the interim Border Patrol checkpoint has been moved to December, apparently in answer to concerns from Tubac business owners who feared construction would cut into the tourist season.

But an official with the Tubac Chamber of Commerce said the move is just as devastating as the original start date of mid-February.

An e-mail Friday from a spokesman for U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords said the congresswoman “wants the upgrade to be completed as quickly as possible and she has communicated this to the Department of Homeland Security.”

It went on to say that Giffords “has been told that the work is scheduled to begin in December.”

The Tubac Chamber of Commerce and area business owners had sought a date change but wanted it pushed back to May or June, after the tourist season.

“If she starts it in December, it would devastate the season,” said Carol Cullen, executive director of the chamber. “It would stop it just as it gets started.”

The $1.5 million construction project, which includes a shade structure, a third lane for trucks and other improvements to the existing checkpoint at Agua Linda Road, could go right up until the Tubac Festival of the Arts begins Feb. 10 without an accelerated construction schedule. The Border Patrol has said in the past that construction would take three months.

Tubac business owners say they bring in half their annual earnings in February and March. However, Tubac also hosts several events in December and January, including the Holiday Artisans Market, Christmas concert at Tumac‡cori Mission, a car show and Tubac Luminaria Nights-Fiesta de Navidad.

According to a project plan filed in June 2008, the construction area would be nearly six miles long along Interstate 19. Northbound traffic would be rerouted across the median near Chavez Siding road and onto one lane of southbound I-19. Southbound I-19 would go down to one lane for four to five miles.

Giffords’ office said she had been told by the Border Patrol that they are working with the Department of Public Safety to minimize construction-related problems along Interstate 19.

Border Patrol spokesman Mario Escalante said there shouldn’t be concerns about construction.

“These are things we are well aware of and we don’t want to restrict any type of traffic flow, much less affect tourism to the area,” he said.

On Friday, the Border Patrol was unaware the construction date had changed from mid-February.

Tubac businesswoman Deborah Koorey wants the work to be postponed till at least May 1 so it doesn’t hurt the tourist season. She said she’s not opposed to the improvements but said construction would likely reduce tourist spending.

“We need our full season,” she said.

kathleenvan@msn.com