The fear that 200 trash-filled tractor-trailer rigs will be rumbling through downtown Brawley each day appears unwarranted.
A landfill is scheduled to open at the former Mesquite Mine near Glamis in eastern Imperial County in 2009. The original plan was for waste to be sent from the Los Angeles area to the Mesquite Regional Landfill via rail, but the rail spur for the site reportedly won’t be finished until 2012 or 2013.
Until then, the trash will be trucked through the Brawley area.
According to an official for the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles, the only reason a Highway 86 option was included in the options presented as potential routes for the trash was Highway 86 is the designated state trucking route. All involved would prefer to use routes that skirt around the city, the official said.
We are relieved to hear that. The last thing downtown Brawley needs is 200 more tractor-trailer rigs pounding through downtown on Highway 86.
Those parking on Brawley’s Main Street already take a tremendous risk when they leave their vehicles as big rigs rumble by. That only gets worse during the dunes season as humongous “toy haulers” head toward the Glamis-area sand dunes.
We are convinced a former mine in the desert is as good a place as any for landfill. That the landfill would bring millions of dollars into Imperial County coffers from fees and taxes makes it an even more appealing prospect.
Still, since it was promised all along to Imperial County residents that this would be a landfill fed by rail, the rail spur for the site should be finished as soon as possible. Frankly, rail seems the most palatable way to haul trash through the county.
Until that happens, the best option would be for trash rigs to take the Highway 111 Brawley bypass, which, despite years of promises, is still unfinished and mired in bureaucratic and funding quagmires. If the bypass were finished, it would mean the trash trucks would be using a new road designed specifically for truck traffic.
It seems only fair that if Imperial County is going to take what a good portion of the state does not want — its trash — the least the state could do is give Imperial County something it wants, specifically the Brawley bypass.
The bypass would take big rigs off Brawley’s main drag and help its downtown bounce back to life.
For taking 20,000 tons of trash a day, that seems more than a fair trade.
" Another fine example of what our city council is NOT doing...for what is best for our great city of BRAWLEY...HELLO, I think a totally recall is in order!!! "
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kbre wrote on Jun 8, 2007 5:22 AM: