Gadsden district roadwork to address dust complaints

SAN LUIS, Ariz. — This city’s elementary school district is a step closer to resolving complaints about dust created by cars traveling on unpaved roads to three schools.

The Gadsden Elementary School District has acquired rights-of-way to be able to pave the stretch of 1st Street from north of Juan Sanchez Boulevard to Arizona Desert School, and to pave Union Street between Fourth Avenue and First Street.

Those roads serve as access to three schools located on the west side of First Avenue — San Luis Middle School and Rio Colorado and Arizona Desert elementary schools.

To acquire right of way to pave the roads, the district had to spend $232,321 to purchase a total of 28 acres of the state land that the roads cross.

“The rights of way were purchased in an auction that the state held, and now we can begin work on the project,” said Ray Aguilera, the district’s superintendent.

The project is aimed at ending recurring complaints from residents in the area about dust problems stirred up by motorists driving to and from the schools.

Aguilera said the district had not foreseen the dust problems when the schools were built years ago.

The purchase of the land is part of a more than $1 million budget set aside for the road improvements.

As one of the terms of the purchase, the district will complete the project in no later than five years. Aguilera said the district plants to begin the initial phase of the work this fiscal year, with the goal of completing the work well before the deadline.

James Davey and Associates, a Yuma engineering firm, will do the initial engineering work, while the district prepares to advertise for bids from contractors to do the street construction.

The district is levying a property tax of 51 cents per $100 of assessed valuation to finance the project.

State law allows school districts to collect a tax — known as an adjacent ways tax — to finance improvements to roads that serve as access to and from their schools. Once paved, the roads will be included in the city’s street system for ongoing maintenance by the city.