We’ll find out this weekend whether soaking a farm field blamed for a series of crashes on Interstate 10 near the New Mexico state line will be enough to keep its dust from blowing.
There have been no crashes or detours since last Friday, but “that’s because the wind isn’t blowing,” said Trooper Kameron Lee, spokesman for the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
That changes on Friday afternoon, May 13. The National Weather Service predicts windy conditions beginning then.
“The main impact of this system will be the strong and gusty winds Sunday and Monday,” the Weather Service reported.
The Tucson area forecast discussion warned of the potential for blowing dust along Interstate 10, “specifically in Cochise County near San Simon.”
The problem in San Simon is a denuded 640-acre site that a Phoenix land company cleared over the winter and did not plant.
The Arizona Department of Transportation is applying water to the site after meeting with agents of the landowner last week, along with inspectors from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality.
It is using its own trucks to tank water from nearby wells and has hired a local contractor to water the field. So far, about 320 acres of the plot closest to the interstate have been watered, said ADOT spokesman Doug Nintzel.
Nintzel said ADOT is “tracking the expenses” and expects the landowner to reimburse the state.
The state Department of Agriculture is also working with representatives of a land company owned by David R. Turner of Phoenix to devise permanent steps to cut down on dust emissions from the site, according to ADOT.
“With strong winds in the forecast for the coming weekend, more closures are a possibility even after trucks have given the field an initial watering,” said an ADOT news release.
The release quoted ADOT Director John Halikowski: “We realize that closing I-10 for an extended period is a hardship for motorists, for drivers of commercial vehicles and for those along the lengthy detour route, but in this case the safest option is the only option.”
The interstate has been shut down three times as a precautionary measure in the past month, forcing a 110-mile detour through Safford from the I-10 intersections with US 191 in Arizona and US 70 at Lordsburg, New Mexico. The interstate was also closed on three different days last month for crashes caused by blowing dust.
