A mile stretch of tossed out tires has turned a rural road in Cameron County into a dump.
We're talking about hundreds of tires left out in the open for everyone to see and no one to do anything about, until now.
It's the road less traveled, except by those trying to get rid of junk.
Carlos Rioja says, “They come at night and dump the tires."
Rioja owns a ranch on Iowa Gardens Road.
The road isn't paved and isn't in a residential area, but it is a back road used to get from major roadways to farm to market roads in Laureles.
It's also being used as a dumping ground mainly for tires of all makes and sizes belonging to motorcycles, vehicles and even tractors.
The tire wasteland is also a graveyard for farm animals who lose their way on this mile long stretch of trash.
Rioja has even seen a boat just left out there for someone else to dispose of, but since it's not a designated dumping site, most of what is thrown out on Iowa Gardens Road stays there for years and years.
"It's creating a bad image for the area and is also damaging the environment", says Rioja.
There are two posted signs warning the public of the fines that come with illegal dumping, but one has been marked over with spray paint and the other obviously just ignored.
Rioja says it's going to take much more than a sign to keep the hoards of trash from continuing to mount.
"I'd like police to patrol here more so they can catch the people who are dumping the tires because it seems like they're coming from a certain business."
We took the issue to Cameron County administrators who tell us illegal dumping on Iowa Gardens Road has been a problem in the past and they will schedule a cleanup of the road soon.
As for people planning to go back out and use the area as a junk drop off, if they’re caught, they face paying $500 to $1,000 in fines.
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