Checkpoint start date still up in the air

Information released Friday night casts doubt on an announcement from U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ office that work on the interim Border Patrol checkpoint on Interstate 19 will begin in December.

Border Patrol spokesman Omar Candelaria said the encroachment permit from the Arizona Department of Transportation has not been received. He doesn’t know when it’s anticipated, but said the contractor, MRM Construction Services Inc., of Phoenix, “is now responsible for obtaining the required permits from ADOT.”

Business owners are concerned about the timing of the work on I-19 between Tubac and Amado, saying it could harm Santa Cruz County’s tourist economy. While $1.5 million in improvements are being installed at the checkpoint, a detour on I-19 will create a bottleneck during the time of the year that traffic is at its highest.

The construction will funnel the two northbound and the two southbound lanes into a single lane each way so a third lane can be constructed on the east side. A metal canopy about 100 feet by 115 feet will be erected across three lanes.

The traffic impact will extend for several miles, but the detour will be about one kilometer, or six-tenths of a mile, Candelaria said. The checkpoint at Agua Linda Road, Exit 42, will remain in operation during construction, he said.

All northbound traffic, including loaded semi trucks, will merge into one lane at about the point where the Chavez Siding Road onramp enters I-19. Southbound traffic will also be funneled into one lane.

“Once the contractor submits the detailed construction schedule, we will have a better idea of how this will be in effect,” he said. The Border Patrol doesn’t anticipate receiving a detailed construction schedule until all permits have been approved, he said.

Business owners were taken by surprise by recent newspaper articles in which the Border Patrol said the start date would be in February.

In July, Border Patrol officials were invited by the Tubac Chamber of Commerce to attend a local meeting. At that time, it was stated that the interim work was to be completed by May. There was no more communication with the chamber.

In an Oct. 28 Santa Cruz Valley Sun article, Candelaria said the start date would be about Feb. 16.

Then, in a Nov. 8 Green Valley News article, a spokesman said Giffords had spoken to the Department of Homeland Security and was told the start date would be in December.

Produce concerns

Allison Moore, communications director for the Nogales-based Fresh Produce Association of the Americas, said the timing is worrisome.

“Our concerns are the number of trucks, and the commingling of trucks and vehicles. We’re concerned about safety and traffic backing up.”

During the height of the winter imported produce season, about 1,200 trucks a day bring fresh vegetables harvested in Mexico to warehouses in Nogales and Rio Rico. A similar number of U.S. trucks travel south on I-19 to pick up the items and then head north for delivery to restaurants, supermarkets and food service suppliers across the United States.

“Fresh produce is highly perishable,” Moore said. “We want it to have the highest quality it can. When there are delays to get out of town, it limits people’s ability here as to where it will be sold. The fear is, we would lose jobs in this area to other ports of entry in Texas and California.”

Tubac business owners began to fear a negative impact on tourism and sales following the Oct. 28 report of the constructions start date.

Carol Cullen, executive director of the Tubac Chamber of Commerce, wrote to members Nov. 10 and said, “In response to calls we have received from chamber members, we want to assure you that we are working diligently to persuade Congresswoman Giffords’ staff and Border Patrol to move the construction start-date back to the ‘May’ start-date reported by a Border Patrol representative at the July 15, 2009, Tubac Chamber of Commerce meeting.

“We are opposed to the timeline, not the construction. January to April is not a time during which I-19 construction lanes should be reduced to one-way both north and south-bound between Exits 40 and 42, and then filtered into a northbound checkpoint inspection,” she wrote.

A lengthy meeting, closed to the public, was held in Tucson on Friday to discuss the checkpoint work, Candelaria said. After that, he provided answers to questions submitted by a reporter four days earlier.

He said the reason the work is anticipated to start earlier than February is that “the Army Corps of Engineers was able to award the contract sooner than expected. For this reason, it is likely that this project may move faster than anticipated.

“The Border Patrol has always maintained the position that interior checkpoints are a critical part of our defense in-depth strategy and would like to move forward with construction as soon as possible.”

The construction plans have not been shown to anyone in the community, but one Tumacacori man, Harry Peck, recently received a copy of plans dated June 2008 following a request under the Freedom of Information Act.

The plans show the location of the metal rain and shade canopy that will span three northbound lanes. The canopy is now going to be moved somewhat. Candelaria said the Border Patrol received “an updated set of engineering plans. There was a slight adjustment moving the canopy 60 feet south of its original location.”

In Cullen’s letter to chamber members, she said, “Tubac, like the rest of the U.S., has been hit hard by the national economic downturn. Our season last year fell short of expectations due to the recession. We cannot afford another setback ... the additional economic hardship associated with significant highway construction.”

Reach the writer at kathleenvan@msn.com