How do rumors get started? The rumor about a Six Flags amusement park coming to Grasslands in Los Lunas developed a life of its own. You’d hear it every few days, someone asking in hushed, awed tones if you’d heard the spectacular news.
But then, when held up to the light, it turned out that it wasn’t true. A spokesperson for Six Flags said the company has no plans to expand into New Mexico.
It just shows how hungry local people are for the grand economic idea, the easy-on-the-environment, adding-to-the-economy idea.
That’s why the intermodal transportation center idea — which definitely is something local businesspeople are discussing but which is still in the idea form — is drawing attention. While it doesn’t have the cotton-candy appeal of an amusement park, it would take advantage of things we already have here — the freeways, the railroads, a nearby airport. We also have the personnel for good-paying, responsible jobs that a transport center would offer.
It would involve removing semi-trailers and cargo containers from railcars and transporting their contents by road.
Nearly 100 trains pass through Belen everyday — why shouldn’t we help the cargos get to their destinations instead of just watching the semis drive through town to another intermodal transport spot?
Maybe we won’t have six flags, but perhaps we’ll have numerous new jobs.
The Valencia County News-Bulletin is a locally owned and operated community newspaper, dedicated to serving Valencia County since 1910 through the highest journalistic and professional business standards. The VCNB is published weekly on Thursdays, including holidays both in print and online.
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April 18, 2024
