Groundbreaking ceremony marks the beginning of street improvements

Calexico city officials and local agencies broke ground Tuesday on what marks the beginning of improvements being made to Cesar Chavez Boulevard.

In just a few weeks, construction to improve and widen the boulevard will begin. The $7.5 million project will add an additional lane to the street as well as sidewalks and street lights.

One council member said this project has long been overdue.

“This has been long in the planning and long in the waiting. So finally we’re here. We’re going to begin construction very very soon,” said Bill Hodges, Calexico City Council Member.

When construction is completed, it will relieve the congested traffic that happens on Imperial Avenue.

Mark Baza, executive director of the Imperial County Transportation Commission said, “It is a critical city street for regional traffic, international traffic to and from the port of entry. So it’s always been a high priority.”

The future economy of Calexico will benefit from the improvements made to Cesar Chavez Blvd.

District Supervisor John Renison said, “It means jobs. It means investment. It means more development and it means more sales taxes because remember, you’re going to have more businesses opening up on Cesar Chavez to take advantage of the increased traveling.”

Construction became possible through federal and state funds.

“Senate Bill 1 is putting a ton of money into improvements and maintenance that has gone for years not being addressed. So those dollars, if we didn’t have those tax dollars, we would just you know don’t have a chance for funding,” said Beth Landrum, Caltrans Associate Transportation Planner.

One city official said it will all be worth it in the end.

Lewis Pacheco, Calexico Mayor Pro-Tem, said, “It going to create a little nuisance but at the end, results are going to outweigh the complaints I think.”

The city hopes construction on Cesar Chavez Blvd. will be completed this March.