Truckers might skirt I-19 construction

Representatives from Green Valley, Tubac and Nogales are scheduled to meet Tuesday with officials from Border Patrol to learn more details about planned construction work on Interstate 19 between Tubac and Amado.

The work has drawn fire because it’s scheduled to take place during the months of heaviest traffic on I-19.

The chairman of the board of directors of the Nogales-based Fresh Produce Association of the Americas has said in a letter that the concern about the I-19 work is so significant that produce shippers may use the winding, two-lane Patagonia Highway, SR 82, for their eastbound loaded semi trucks.

Chris Ciruli of the FPAA wrote to John Halikowski, director of the Arizona Department of Transportation, on Nov. 19 and asked the agency to provide assistance to the business community.

No start date has been announced for the project because the required encroachment permit from the Arizona Department of Transportation has not been issued. Border Patrol representatives have said once that happens, the contractor, MRM Construction Services Inc., of Phoenix, will begin work.

In a related matter, Santa Cruz County Supervisor John Maynard received a letter from ADOT saying the agency will not require a public hearing in advance of the work to alter the interstate. Maynard, board chairman, had asked for that in an Oct. 27 letter to a member of the State Transportation Board, Barbara Lundstrom. The reply came from District Engineer Todd Emery, who said it was a Border Patrol issue.

Looking for a compromise, a small group began asking whether the now-closed ADOT Canoa rest area on I-19 south of Green Valley could be used by the Border Patrol for inspections. Aline Payne of Rio Rico, Marilynn Lowder of Tubac and Harry Peck and Lynn Carey of Tumacacori have raises the question.

Linda Ritter, an ADOT spokeswoman, downplayed that idea in an email.

“By the end of the fiscal year, the Arizona Department of Transportation will be reviewing whether to reopen the rest area,” she wrote. “Additionally, MVD enforcement (truck weigh stations) is allowed to use the rest area ramps when needed.

“With that in mind, there are no plans at this time to offer it as a U.S. Border Patrol Station. U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint locations are placed in highly strategic areas and the U.S. Border Patrol may find the rest area location not meeting criteria.”

Tuesday’s meeting will be held at the Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector office. Scheduled to attend are representatives from the Tubac and Green Valley Chambers of Commerce, Rich Bohman of the Santa Cruz Valley Citizens Council, Tubac businessman Gary Brasher, and representatives from the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas.

While $1.5 million in improvements are being installed at the checkpoint, the construction, north of Chavez Siding Road, will funnel the two northbound and the two southbound lanes into a single lane each so a third lane can be constructed on the east side. As well, a sun and rain metal canopy, about 100 feet in depth and 115 feet in width, will be erected across three lanes.

The impact will be felt for several miles as vehicles reduce speed and begin to merge.

The detour will be about one kilometer, or 0.6 miles long, Border Patrol spokesman Omar Candelaria said. The immigration and drug-smuggling checkpoint at Agua Linda Road, Exit 42, will continue in operation, he said.

Thousandsof trucks

The produce industry adds thousands of trucks to the highway as fruits and vegetables harvested in Mexico in the winter are shipped to customers across the United States and Canada.

Ciruli wrote that from January to April, there are routinely 1,200 to 1,500 trucks crossing the border every day.

“This means that 2,000 to 2,500 U.S. trucks drive south on I-19 to pick up product at local warehouses and return north on I-19 to tie into the federal interstate system for destinations across the U.S.,” he wrote.

He said the anticipated delays will make it “difficult to maintain our share in the market” and that buyers may look to other growing regions.

There is also a danger of a major accident, he said. The frontage road system isn’t continuous in the area and “there is no consistent way to reroute traffic around an accident site,” nor is there a nearby fire station to the north to respond quickly.

Ciruli said members of the FPAA “are exploring a contingency plan to route commercial traffic destined for East Coast markets... on the Patagonia Highway.” That could prove troublesome since east county residents have opposed that for years, and the road isn’t built for heavy commercial use.

“Ideally, the FPAA believes the proposed construction could be moved to a time of year when it will have the least impact on the local community, potentially looking at July, August and September,” Ciruli wrote.

The Tubac Chamber of Commerce has asked for the same consideration, noting that the largest number of tourists visit during the winter. As well, the annual Festival of the Arts, Feb. 10-14, will bring many visitors, which could snarl traffic, said Carol Cullen, executive director.

Reach the writer at kathleenvan@msn.com