Construction on new port to begin next month

BY JAMES GILBERT, SUN STAFF WRITER

December 17, 2007 - 6:07PM

Although some initial work has been done at the site of the new San Luis port of entry, construction isn't expected to begin until sometime next year.

According to Gary Magrino, chairman of the Greater Yuma Port Authority (GYPA) board, the contractor hired to build the new port has secured the site with a chain-link fence and brought in some heavy equipment to do the preliminary groundwork.

"There is a lot of activity there getting things prepared," Magrino said. "Everyone is excited to see the progress being made."

Magrino said the actual construction is scheduled to begin sometime in January. An official groundbreaking will be held in February, he added, but no date has been set.

The new $42 million facility is being built by the federal government on an 80-acre site five miles east of San Luis, Ariz. Completion of the port, which was funded in the 2006 federal budget, is slated for mid- to late-2009.

Once completed, the new San Luis port will handle all the commercial traffic crossing the local U.S.-Mexico border in San Luis. The existing port of entry will remain open for pedestrian and private vehicle traffic.

Also, work is under way on the Area Service Highway, which will connect the new port with Interstate 8, bypassing more congested and developed areas. The four-lane, controlled-access highway will border the Barry M. Goldwater military range and connect to the freeway near Araby Road.