San Luis, Yuma County outline major road, port and utility projects and timelines

County and city engineers used a joint work session to review multiple major projects expected to reshape San Luis’s transportation and utilities networks.

Frank Sanchez, Yuma County engineering director, updated officials on the Avenue E‑D corridor: stage‑5 plans are being finalized, title reports and right‑of‑way acquisition are next steps and staff will resubmit a BUILD grant application after scoring improvements. Sanchez described the Avenue E‑D project as a roughly $25 million corridor that will rely largely on federal funding and intergovernmental cost sharing.

City engineers and staff outlined the San Luis port of entry expansion, a $350 million modernization that will increase capacity from eight to 16 lanes and use green‑construction goals; the city said construction began in May 2023 under a five‑year schedule with completion expected in 2028, and noted that Mexican‑side construction timing will affect traffic patterns during phased changes.

Thomas Sanchez, San Luis city engineer, presented the Cesar Chavez Boulevard project: the five‑mile widening from Escondido to Avenue E will add lanes, sidewalks, drainage, lighting and six new signals. He reported a project budget of about $61.2 million: roughly $25 million in federal grants, $33 million in state funding and about $4 million in local funding. Bids opened Nov. 7 with a low apparent bid near $57 million; ADOT is evaluating bids, and the city estimates construction could start Feb. 2026 with substantial completion in 2028 pending ADOT approval.

Officials raised construction‑management concerns: supervisors urged careful staging and roundabout sizing to avoid backups, and recommended sequencing works from the east to reduce resident impacts. Supervisors and the mayor also emphasized cross‑border coordination for the port expansion and asked state and federal representatives to press for staffing and funding adjustments to handle increased port traffic.

No formal approvals were taken; staff were asked to continue coordinating schedules, right‑of‑way needs and bid evaluations with ADOT, GSA and project contractors.