Cesar Chavez Boulevard project breaks ground
CALEXICO — Officials here are asking for the motoring public’s patience as construction on the $7.5 million Cesar Chavez Boulevard widening project is set to begin Sept. 10.
The project will reduce traffic between Second Street and Highway
98 to one lane in each direction, resulting in traffic delays during its projected eight months of construction.
The widening project is an integral part of traffic mitigation efforts related to the ongoing Calexico-West Land Port of Entry expansion project.
“We’re looking forward to this (widening) project coming to fruition,” said Mayor Lewis Pacheco. “This project will construct the infrastructure necessary to provide roadway access to the land port of entry expansion project and expands (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant walkways for pedestrians and bicycles.”
On Tuesday, Pacheco was joined by city, county and state officials at the corner of Fifth Street and Cesar Chavez Boulevard for an official groundbreaking ceremony marking the occasion.
The project will create two lanes of traffic in each direction between Highway 98 and Grant Street, as well as maintain the two northbound lanes between Grant Street and Second Street.
Another southbound lane will also be added between Grant Street and Second Street to accommodate Mexicali-bound port of entry traffic.
The widening project will also install bike lanes in both directions, street lighting, sidewalks, a traffic signal at Grant Street, as well as turning and auxiliary lanes for merging traffic.
Funding for the project comes from various sources, including a $5.5 million federal grant and about $1.3 million in Measure D funds.
The project is not projected to be completed until about March, at which time Chavez Boulevard will become the primary route for both southbound and northbound downtown port-of-entry traffic.
“During peak times, Cesar Chavez (Boulevard) will be the only route into Mexico,” said City Manager David Dale.
Once completed, port-of-entry traffic that currently uses Imperial Avenue will be shifted onto Cesar Chavez Boulevard.
The pending traffic shift is expected to alleviate the southbound traffic congestion that currently prevents motorists from conveniently accessing businesses along Imperial Avenue’s west side, Dale said.
“We’re looking forward to that time when Chavez (Boulevard) opens,” Dale said.
The Cesar Chavez Boulevard widening project is one of many road improvement projects the city has undertaken in recent months and has pending.
Much of that roadwork was made possible with countywide Measure D funds, a voter-approved half-cent sales tax that funds local transportation projects.
Lately, additional funding has also come from Senate Bill 1, a gas tax that public and transportation officials have repeatedly praised and which voters will have the opportunity to potentially repeal this November.
The city is currently spending about $3 million in Measure D funds on roadway projects, and has plans to possibly re-bond Measure D proceeds to generate an additional $3 million per year for the next few years, Dale said.
“We simply don’t have enough money to maintain the roads we have with the gas taxes in place,” he said. “Even with Measure D funds it’s still not enough to maintain the massive infrastructure that we have here.”
The city’s ongoing roadwork owes much of its activity to Dale’s and Assistant City Manager Miguel Figueroa’s leadership, said Councilman Bill Hodge.
Hodge also expressed hope that the Cesar Chavez Boulevard expansion project and the ongoing and pending roadwork elsewhere in the city keeps pace with population growth and increased use of local roadways.
“I hope we’re ahead of the curve,” he said.