Police Enforcing Truck Drivers to Use Designated Roads
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BROWNSVILLE – The Brownsville Police Department is cracking down on commercial truck drivers using unauthorized roads to get around town.
Police said it’s an effort to protect taxpayers’ money.
A city ordinance states tractor trailers should only be using certain major roads. When they don’t, city streets take a toll and so do taxpayers’ pockets.
City officials said it can cost $1 million to repair just one mile of road.
“On average, in order to fully reconstruct a street, it is a million per mile,” Brownsville Public Information Officer Roxanna Rosas said.
The city continuously receives requests for road repairs.
“Public works responds to anywhere between 150,000 to 375,000 pothole requests per year,” she said.
Brownsville police are now stepping in. They’re working on enforcing a city ordinance that prohibits heavy tractor trailers from using residential roads.
“The weight on these vehicles obviously are a lot higher and the street in itself takes a toll. But most importantly, because it’s a city ordinance that these drivers must follow,” J.J. Trevino with the Brownsville Police Department said.
Brownsville truck routes include Boca Chica Boulevard, Central Boulevard, Elizabeth Street, International Boulevard, Frontage Road, most downtown streets, Palm Boulevard, Mexico Boulevard, Paredes Line Road, Southmost Road, portions of 6th to 14th streets and Old Port Isabel Road.
A number of truck drivers CHANNEL 5 NEWS spoke with didn’t want to speak on camera. They did say that some of the designated truck routes are often confusing.
Others said they try to stick to FM 511.
They said that stretch of road avoids city roads and traffic completely and leads them directly to the Port of Brownsville and connects to Toll Highway 550.
Isabel Gongora lives down the road from some of the trucking companies. She said it’s not hard to find streets around town that need repair.
“When it rains, those streets that are made of caliche, you can count on a pothole. The city needs to do a better job with that,” she said.
Gongora said she doesn’t have a problem with the maintenance on Port Isabel Road where she lives.
Rosa said the life expectancy of city streets is from 15 to 20 years.
Repair money comes from the general fund, so these ordinances have to be strictly enforced to protect the city’s investment and taxpayers’ pockets.
The truck drivers said they use certain apps that help guide them to the designated truck routes.
Police said any truck driver caught on a non-designated route will be fined $200.
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