Roadwork partially funded by the Jamul Indian Village of San Diego County will, the tribe and town members hope, make the road leading to the Jamul Casino just a little safer. The tribe agreed to fund $3.7-millions of work that includes a new traffic light on Highway 94.
The Jamul Indian Village, owners of the Jamul Casino in east San Diego County, are funding road work on the highway that winds precariously to the somewhat remote town of Jamul.
Erica Pinto, chairman of the tribe, greeted the roadwork that began last week. “The Jamul Indian Village has always been here eager to contribute to our community,” she declared. The tribe has pledged $3.7 million to San Diego County for road improvement, such as a new traffic light on Highway 94 and Lyons Valley Road. Pinto added, “I’ve been here all my life. I witnessed many accidents, many fatalities. The light will hopefully slow people down.”
She added, The Jamul Indian Village is proud to invest in projects like the Lyons Valley Road improvements, bringing a controlled intersection light, which will make traveling through our community much safer for everyone who travels our roads. The reality is that none of these road improvements would be possible without the revenues from Jamul Casino.”
The tribe marked the beginning of the work with a short ceremony.
Many residents of Jamul, who have bitterly fought the tribal casino every step of the way, and who still snipe at it for allegedly leading to drunken driving, have accused the tribe of doing nothing to make the road safe while allowing alcoholic beverages to be sold at the casino.
Two years ago the tribe signed a memorandum of understanding with the County to help pay for improvements such as the traffic light, and access improvements. The roads have been greatly strained by the casino, with events sometimes backing up traffic for miles.
For a while, after the tribe divorced its partner Penn National Gaming, and rebranded the casino from Hollywood Casino to Jamul Casino, some residents feared that the road improvements would go by the wayside.
A longtime resident, Marcia Spurgeon, told the Fox 5 San Diego that the problem won’t be solved until more lanes are added. She doesn’t expect that to happen soon.
“Caltrans knows the dangers on this road. They know what needs to be done, but they don’t have the money to make those improvements,” she said.
