New truck inspection station to open west of Douglas

Been wondering what was being built in that big lot next to the Motor Vehicle Dept. west of Douglas at the Highway 80 and 191 intersections?

No it’s not a race track but instead a new commercial truck inspection station which just passed final inspection and is due to open this month.

Arizona Dept. of Transportation spokesperson Linda Ritter said the current project which was just completed is phase one of a two-phase project.

The current project cost over $2.4 million to complete and included the addition of roadway lights, signs, scales for large and oversized trucks, a truck inspection booth and tons (6-9 inches thick) of concrete over 14 acres of land.

The new site, which is one of the largest in the state, will be able to handle the larger type of commercial vehicles in addition to the regular sized ones.

Funding for the project came from the Federal Highway Administration’s National Quarter Planning and Development Border Infrastructure Fund.

The project began in September with the Haydon Building Corporation out of Phoenix handling the construction duties.

Phase two which will consist of adding an administration and a truck inspection building is currently in the design phase.

Ritter says it has not yet been determined when work on the second phase will begin.

In the meantime crews will rotate between the current site and the new site allowing the MVD inspectors to complete their inspections.

ADOT officials said there are currently no plans to shut down the smaller inspection station east of town and that the eight Douglas MVD inspectors will rotate back and forth between the two sites.

An estimated 50 trucks per day come through the current site and with the completion of the new site those figures could double if not triple adding a boost to Douglas’ economy.