Congested Texas border crossings to get relief
TORNILLO, Texas — This quiet two-lane border crossing on the banks of the Rio Grande, near alfalfa fields and pecan orchards about 40 miles southeast of El Paso, has seen the last of its days of tranquility.
Officials kicked off the construction Wednesday of a 117-acre, $96 million port of entry that will bring relief for the congested El Paso-area border crossings from Mexico by June 2013. It will replace the wooden 1920s bridge that is limited to cars and pedestrians.
The facility will join three other area crossings that process more than 10 million cars and 700,000 commercial trucks each year.
In fiscal year 2010, the Fabens Port of Entry, as the current crossing is known, processed 51,171 pedestrians and just more than 390,000 cars. Once finished, it will be the port of entry with the largest area in the U.S. It is not currently prepared to process commercial trucks.
The upgraded six-lane facility will have full commercial service for trucks and is intended to eventually manage a large portion of traffic of the east-bound cargo from Mexico.
J.D. Salinas, regional administrator for the Southwest Region of the U.S. General Services Administration, said the new port of entry will connect major industrial hubs in Mexico and the U.S. GSA and Customs and Border Protection will manage the project.
Aside from helping manage commercial traffic, the new facility is expected to attract east-bound crossers and those who would rather drive than wait at the Ciudad Juarez-El Paso bridges. Wait times of up to two or more hours are not unusual during peak hours in El Paso.
On the Mexican side, construction of a 60-acre facility will begin in September, said Cesar Duarte, the governor of the State of Chihuahua. Mexico also is slated to build highways and other infrastructure to manage traffic that is currently using the border bridges in El Paso.
"It took 14 years for it to become a reality, but here we are," said former El Paso County commissioner Miguel Teran, who pushed for the construction of this bridge.
Commissioner Willie Gandara said the project is expected to bring jobs to the surrounding communities. "Bigger businesses, better jobs, growth, a better life," said Gandara.
http://www.statesman.com/news/texas/...f-1626323.html