Link to Early Voting story

Link to Arturo Gonzalez Jr. story

Link to Swine Flu story

Anzalduas Bridge substantially complete on U.S. side

GSA, port facilities still under construction

By Jim Brunson

The Anzalduas Bridge connecting Mission with Reynosa is substantially complete on the U.S. side. While work on the Mexican side has slowed appreciably, their part of the bridge is expected to be completed in plenty of time for the planned opening in October.

Anzalduas Bridge Project Engineer Ramon Navarro said this week that the U.S. side of the bridge structure itself is not only substantially complete, the bridge contractors are expected to be completely finished by May 4.

Crews are presently erecting fencing the full length of the bridge north of the Rio Grande, as well as taking care of the finer details such as sand blasting and putting on surface finishes. The final step will be striping of the traffic lanes.

Much work remains to be done on the U.S. GSA (General Services Administration) facilities building, the toll plazas and administration buildings on the U.S. side.

The bridge’s original planned June 2009 opening date was pushed back last year when the GSA facilities contract was issued with a February, 2010 completion date. With pressure from local leaders, the GSA facilities substantial completion date is now set for September 19, 2009 and the bridge opening is planned for October. The toll plazas and other facilities are under construction and on schedule to be operational well before the opening date.

Speedy progress on the Mexican side during the first several months of construction has slowed markedly. They are reported to now be at about 68 percent complete, according to George Ramon, Hidalgo port director.

Mexico’s contractor has yet to complete construction of the final column at the edge of the river and several sections of the Mexican structure still need the pre-stressed concrete panels and pouring of the concrete bridge deck. All of this work has been completed on the U.S. side. The Mexican contractor is also responsible to construct the common span over the river itself, joining the two structures together. This is expected to take at least two months to construct.

Local bridge officials report that when the Mexican contractor learned that the opening date was being delayed due to the GSA facilities, they slowed down their work. 

The Mexican border station inspection facility is complete and has been delivered to the federal government. Their toll plazas are substantially complete, though some work remains to be done.

When asked if the Mexican bridge structure was uneven or bumpy, George Ramon, who completed a tour of the bridge with Mexican officials on Wednesday, said they did have some corrections to do on part of their work and they are taking steps now to make corrections to smooth out certain sections of the bridge. He emphasized, however, that this was only on certain sections, and not the entire bridge span that had issues.

Early voting locations

With early voting set to begin Monday, April 27, voters who wish to cast their vote will have multiple places to choose from.

For the STC District 2 election, early voting locations are: Precinct 3 County Commissioner’s Office at 724 Breyfogle Road in Palmview, the La Joya Housing Authority at 945 South Leo Avenue in La Joya, Our Lady of Guadalupe Church at 620 Dunlap in Mission, Alton City Hall at 509 South Alton Boulevard, and the Sullivan City Fire Station at 500 Cenizo in Sullivan City.

The lone early voting location for the Sharyland ISD election will be at the Sharyland Fire Station #2 at 1804 North Shary Road in Mission.

The Sullivan City Council election will also have only one polling place at the Sullivan City Fire Station.

Early voting hours for STC elections will be from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, April 27 to Saturday, May 2 and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on May 4 and 5. Hours for the Sharyland election will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day except Saturday, which is from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sullivan City early voting hours will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. All locations will be closed Sunday, May 3.

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La Joya ISD Trustee Arturo Gonzalez Jr. dies at 56

April 27, 2009--La Joya ISD board member Arturo Gonzalez Jr., age 56, passed away Sunday, April 26. Gonzalez served 9 years on the La Joya school board, and held various office positions. His first term on the board began in 2001. He was elected board president in 2005, and board secretary in 2006. He was currently serving again as the board secretary.

“This is a great loss for our district and we would like to extend our support and gratitude for the service Mr. Gonzalez gave to the children and staff of La Joya ISD,” said La Joya ISD Superintendent Dr. Alda Benavides.

Viewing will be held 10 a.m.- 9 p.m., Tuesday, April 28 at L & I Funeral Home in Penitas, with a rosary service at 7 p.m. A funeral mass will be conducted at 3 p.m., Wednesday, April 29 at Santa Magdalena Catholic Church in Abram. Burial will follow at the Lord & I Cemetery on East Goodwin Rd., Palmview.

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Hidalgo County holds press conference on Swine Flu epidemic

Though Mexico has been on high alert after reported deaths due to the swine flu epidemic, Hidalgo County officials said Monday, there have been no confirmed cases reported in the South Texas area as of Monday, April 27.

Hidalgo County Health and Human Services Director Eddie Olivarez said the county has been contacting regional clinics and hospitals in order to stay up to date with information. He urged citizens to exercise caution, but not to panic.

“The news coming from Mexico is much different than here in the U.S.,” said Olivarez. “They’re at a much higher state of alert. The cases that have been reported here have been much milder than in Mexico.”

Olivarez said the best way to combat the disease would be to wash hands and avoid close contact with those who are sick. For an updated case count of confirmed swine flu infections, visit the Center for Disease Control’s website at www.cdc.gov/swineflu/investigation.htm. The Progress Times will be providing updates as more information becomes available.