I just read a piece in the online version of the Arizona Daily Star about the work being done on the south bound port of entry lanes at Lukeville, AZ: “The Lukeville Port of Entry opened in 1941. It has had three passenger-vehicle lanes and one for commercial trucks since the current structure was built in 1976…”
Next to that there was additional information claiming that “In 2009, the Lukeville Port of Entry processed 347,000 vehicles, 100,000 pedestrians, 326 commercial trucks”.
Assuming those numbers represent ‘south-bound’ traffic and that once in Sonoyta the destination options are many, such as Caborca, Santa Ana (a neat little community I might add) or Magdalena de Kino, Hermosillo, Guaymas/San Carlos and further down to Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, etc., I wonder how many ‘tourists’ really come to Peñasco each year from the Lukeville crossing?
Over the years there has been the local ‘gang’ (you know who you are) claiming upwards of 3 Million tourists visiting PP each year but as anyone with a basic calculator quickly learns that would mean that every day of there year, all 365 of ‘em, there would be about 8,000 ‘visitors’ roaming the streets, restaurants, stores, etc. here; ‘NOT’!
Apparently, the $2.5 million Lukeville project is being funded with $1.5 million from the Federal Highway Administration (whose, the article didn’t say), as well as $1 million from the Rocky Point Convention and Visitors Bureau in Sonora, which was provided to the Arizona Department of Transportation through the Arizona-Mexico Commission.
I’ve been driving to and fro for many years and with a little simple planning I have never once had a delay crossing south or north bound because of traffic congestion. So I just can’t help but wonder who is really gaining from that $2.5 Million expense and if that money couldn’t have been better used within our community.
¡Viva Puerto Peñasco y México!
elgitanopenasco@gmail.com
