Ted Kipf Road to Glamis dunes not open to off-highway vehicles
Source:
http://www.ivpressonline.com/articles/2009/10/01/local_news/news03.txt
By ELIZABETH VARIN, Staff Writer - www.ivpressonline.com
GLAMIS — Problems have arisen with a proposed plan to make Ted Kipf Road near here a combined-use highway.
After meeting with local and state Highway Patrol leaders, it was determined that, while the road may become a combined-use highway, there are other problems to consider, said Robert Ham, Imperial County director of intergovernmental relations.
“To get from the Glamis area across the tracks to Ted Kipf, you would actually have to go on the state highway because it’s very narrow where it crosses the tracks,” he said.
A combined-use road would allow off-highway vehicles to drive on it, according to a letter from Public Works Director William Brunet to a local Highway Patrol captain.
There is a big safety issue with having off-highway vehicles in the area, specifically on Highway 78 in eastern Imperial County, Ham said. The amount of large trucks and, soon, garbage trucks coming from Los Angeles would endanger off-highway vehicle riders.
The state has other areas where dirt roads meet state highways, said Imperial County Supervisor Gary Wyatt. The California Highway Patrol commissioner advised the county that such an area would have to be dealt with.
A solution has to come soon as the first big weekend of dune season is Halloween weekend, Wyatt said.
“We don’t have much time,” he said.
The county is looking at any and all options available, Ham said. Two potential options include using an existing underpass or finding another place where off-highway vehicles can safely cross.
“We think we can find a solution,” he said. “It’s going to involve, at this point, calling the railroad, the BLM, the Highway Patrol, Public Works and maybe some others.”
The county has been in discussions with Union Pacific Railroad about possibly creating an underground passageway, said county Board of Supervisors Chairman Wally Leimgruber.
However, the funding is an issue, he said. The county may be able to request federal money, as the property is on federal land.
Temporarily, the county may be able to use an existing wash, though nothing has been approved yet, Leimgruber said.
Time is of the essence, as dune season is about to being, he said.
“We’re literally going to lose a business if we don’t do something soon,” Leimgruber said.
The issue of safety is the biggest concern though, he said.
“We do not want, by any means, to put anyone in harms way,” he said.
http://www.ivpressonline.com/articles/2009/10/01/local_news/news03.txt
By ELIZABETH VARIN, Staff Writer - www.ivpressonline.com
GLAMIS — Problems have arisen with a proposed plan to make Ted Kipf Road near here a combined-use highway.
After meeting with local and state Highway Patrol leaders, it was determined that, while the road may become a combined-use highway, there are other problems to consider, said Robert Ham, Imperial County director of intergovernmental relations.
“To get from the Glamis area across the tracks to Ted Kipf, you would actually have to go on the state highway because it’s very narrow where it crosses the tracks,” he said.
A combined-use road would allow off-highway vehicles to drive on it, according to a letter from Public Works Director William Brunet to a local Highway Patrol captain.
There is a big safety issue with having off-highway vehicles in the area, specifically on Highway 78 in eastern Imperial County, Ham said. The amount of large trucks and, soon, garbage trucks coming from Los Angeles would endanger off-highway vehicle riders.
The state has other areas where dirt roads meet state highways, said Imperial County Supervisor Gary Wyatt. The California Highway Patrol commissioner advised the county that such an area would have to be dealt with.
A solution has to come soon as the first big weekend of dune season is Halloween weekend, Wyatt said.
“We don’t have much time,” he said.
The county is looking at any and all options available, Ham said. Two potential options include using an existing underpass or finding another place where off-highway vehicles can safely cross.
“We think we can find a solution,” he said. “It’s going to involve, at this point, calling the railroad, the BLM, the Highway Patrol, Public Works and maybe some others.”
The county has been in discussions with Union Pacific Railroad about possibly creating an underground passageway, said county Board of Supervisors Chairman Wally Leimgruber.
However, the funding is an issue, he said. The county may be able to request federal money, as the property is on federal land.
Temporarily, the county may be able to use an existing wash, though nothing has been approved yet, Leimgruber said.
Time is of the essence, as dune season is about to being, he said.
“We’re literally going to lose a business if we don’t do something soon,” Leimgruber said.
The issue of safety is the biggest concern though, he said.
“We do not want, by any means, to put anyone in harms way,” he said.
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6:55 PM
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