No agreement on river road expansion

Federal law enforcement officials and environmentalists did not reach a consensus Monday on the widening of the Border Patrol road that runs through the Paseo Del Indio trail. “What we hear from Border Patrol’s side is that they are going to be incredibly sensitive to the habitat areas and not take out any habitat that they don’t have to. We’re working on that idea,” said Jay Johnson-Castro of the Rio Grande International Study Center. Johnson-Castro was among several RGISC members who met with Border Patrol officials for about two and a half hours Monday afternoon. Juan L. Maldonado, Laredo Community College president, also attended the meeting. Because an agreement was not reached, RGISC members said they will meet with Border Patrol officials again to identify essential areas that they don’t want disturbed. “We’re trying to operate on the basis that we’re all on the same side here and we all want to do what’s right and trust one another,” Johnson-Castro said shortly after Monday’s

meeting. “And if that approach works, then we’ll arrive at something more favorable.” An LCC special called board meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday to iron out any differences remaining between the two groups. Last week, LCC trustees asked Border Patrol to sit down with the environmentalists because of their fervent opposition to the expansion of the road, which has been a subject of debate for several years. Trustees made the decision after discussing at length the renewal of a temporary work area easement requested by Border Patrol. The temporary easement would allow the agency to expand the road from 12 to 36 feet wide. The dirt road would also be surfaced with caliche, an all-weather gravel. Border Patrol already has a 50-year easement from LCC for 36 feet by the river. But they need an additional 20 feet for construction equipment, so they’re asking LCC trustees to approve a temporary work area easement. In 2005, trustees granted them a three-year temporary work area easement, but U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said they were unable to finish

the project because of a lack of funding. The requested temporary work area easement would renew the expired document. The road expansion would allow two cars to pass each other and provide better response time to security issues in an area known as a crossing point for illegal immigrants, Border Patrol officials said. They estimate that fewer than 277 trees would have

to be removed to finish the project. Under a city ordinance, the trees and vegetation would have to be replaced.

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