S.C. County insurer balks at the Palo Parado threat

First, Union Pacific Railroad wanted to close its crossing at Palo Parado Road in Rio Rico where more than 1,400 vehicles cross daily to reach Interstate 19. Now a new threat could force Santa Cruz County to block the dirt roadway off Pendleton Drive.

In its efforts to pave the road and get funds for railroad signals and a bridge, the county has alarmed its insurance agency, the Arizona Counties Insurance Pool.

“If we drop the pavement off just before the (Santa Cruz) river, we invite people to go for a swim,” said Thomas O’Sullivan, chief deputy county attorney.

He spoke to about 26 residents at an April 8 study session on Palo Parado.

If someone drowns during the monsoon, the county could be liable, O’Sullivan said. “The attorneys (for the pool) recommend that we block this road off until the bridge is built.”

William Hardy, executive director of the insurance pool, referred questions about the policy to Santa Cruz County.

Early in 2008, residents of northeast Rio Rico persuaded the county to work with the railroad, local developers and the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) to create a safe public crossing at Palo Parado.

The county needed four things:

1. Permission from local landowners to build a paved road across the tracks, which was granted in March 2008.

2. A rail-crossing agreement with Union Pacific, finalized with the county in December 2008.

3. Federal 130 funds to pay for signals and gates at the rail crossing. ADOT has listed the project as eligible once the road is built.

4. Funding to build the road and a bridge to span the Santa Cruz River, at least $7 million.

But other hurdles have come up, said County Manager Greg Lucero.

The railroad dictated the road design, Lucero said. “They wanted basically a flat road.

“This has driven the price of the project up considerably.”

Union Pacific would not allow a road across the tracks north of the current crossing, the route recommended by CPE Consultants LLC, Lucero said. Moreover, the county could lose $350,000 in federal funds for gates and signals if it did not use an existing crossing.

“The temporary fix (cutting the cul-de-sac Caballero Corte through to the railroad tracks) is becoming the permanent solution,” Lucero said.

Rio Rico Properties agreed last year to let the county use the road for three years, Lucero said. But it wants to restore the cul-de-sac and sell the lots as part of a 55-unit subdivision.

Already, two homes are up and another is under construction, said Sheila Vasquez, assistant project manager for the Arizona Division of Avatar (RRP’s parent company).

“The county wants to amend the agreement,” Vasquez said. She indicated that RRP would continue to negotiate with the county.

To get federal money for the road and bridge, the county has to get the proposed road onto the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), Lucero said.

Designation

First the roadway must be designated as “functionally classified” as a major collector, said Scott Altherr, public works director. But this process was delayed by a miscommunication with ADOT.

Now ADOT has submitted the paperwork to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and “we might find out in the fall,” Altherr said.

To get a right-of-way clearance from FHWA, “we need to declare that we did not pay for that (donated) property,” Altherr said. “We received a waiver from one party (First United Realty) and we’re waiting for one from the other (Rio Rico Properties).”

It will cost $240,000 if the county contracts with Southern Arizona Paving to build the road from Caballero Corte to 200 feet west of the railroad tracks, Altherr said. The company, which is building the pathway in Rio Rico, has enough insurance to obtain a contractor’s right of entry with the railroad.

Could Santa Cruz County build the 700-foot section of road? Lucero asked Altherr.

County crews could do 90 percent of the road building, but they can’t lay asphalt or stripe the road, Altherr said.

In the meantime, CPE Consultants is evaluating the river for a future bridge, Lucero said.

“We’re trying to determine the historic high-water mark,” said Leonard Fontes, CPE project manager.

The goal is to reduce the area of environmental disturbance so the county could qualify for a nation-wide permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fontes said. That agency is charged with protecting navigable waterways.

Fontes submitted the documents to the Army Corps office in Phoenix, he said. The next step is to file for a pre-construction permit to begin environmental and cultural resource studies. That process could take six months.

At a breakfast meeting in Tucson on April 8, Lucero and Supervisor Rudy Molera asked Col. Thomas Magness of the Corps to help the county get the permit, Lucero said.

The county has asked Congressman Raul Grijalva, District 7 Democrat, for an appropriation, Lucero said. Typically, it requires a 20 percent local contribution, but he believes the county can arrange financing for the match.

“Unless we get some earmarks from our federal representatives, we’re going to end up where we were in February 2008, with the railroad threatening to close the crossing,” said Kathi Campana, co-chair of the Baca Float Coalition, in an interview.

“ADOT told the ACC (Arizona Corporation Commission) that Palo Parado had to be done expeditiously because it was the most unsafe crossing in the state,” said Gene Earl, chairman of Concerned Citizens for Emergency Services in Northeast Rio Rico, in an interview. “We need this road open and the bridge built for the 10,000 citizens of the east side.”

Soon, the county will post signs at the crossing to warn drivers there is no bridge ahead and the county does not maintain the road, Altherr said.