Imperial County officials show united front on border crisis
Local government officials hold press conference to share their thoughts on increasingly urgent situation - 13 On Your Side’s Vince Ybarra reports
EL CENTRO, Calif. (KECY, KYMA) - Local officials met at the Chamber of Commerce in El Centro to discuss the border issues affecting Imperial Valley on Wednesday.
Calexico Mayor Javier Moreno was one of the speakers at the press conference. The economy has been a big issue for Calexico business owners. He said the city is ready to welcome back shoppers from across the border.
Mayor Moreno said acknowledges the traffic issue in Calexico. He said is eager to get back to normal hours for the east port of entry on November 8.
“It’s good for us because the waiting time we had for traffic going south, people who work over here and go back to home, they are gonna open the border from 2 to 10 o’clock in the evening,” said Mayor Moreno.
Currently, the hours are 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., and it’s been this way since the pandemic started. Mayor Moreno said the hope is to elevate traffic
Executive Director of Imperial County Transportation Commission, Mark Baza, said the border going back to normal hours will help the valley as a whole.
He also shared transportation commission is in the process of making vital upgrades to the port of entry that will hopefully aid traffic issues.
It is in the process of creating a space for travelers looking for transportation, like taxis or busses to get around in the Valley.
“We’re completing the design right now and we’ll need to get the construction funds but we expect to get that sometime early next year,” said Baza.
The completion of this project is thought to be done by 2023.
Wednesday on 13 On Your Side at 6 p.m., Vince Ybarra reports on what Valley officials are hoping for with the east border entry going back to normal hours.
