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Old 07-20-2011, 01:15 AM
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Jeanfromfillmore Jeanfromfillmore is offline
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Default Council OKs tech upgrade for international bridge tolls

Council OKs tech upgrade for international bridge tolls
El Paso may soon become the first city along the United States' southern border to collect international bridge tolls using unmanned tollbooths for vehicles leaving the country.
The El Paso City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to spend more than $1.7 million to upgrade toll-collection technology at the Zaragoza and Stanton Street international bridges.
The move will make it possible for four electronic kiosks to be installed as early as December. It would take three to four weeks for them to be up and running, said Said Larbi-Cherif, director of international bridges in El Paso.
Larbi-Cherif said this will also help the city cut personnel spending at tollbooths. The city spends about $2 million for toll workers' wages and benefits.
Three machines would be installed at the Zaragoza Bridge and the fourth at the Stanton Street bridge.
Drivers going south would be able to pay tolls at the machine using cash or credit or debit cards and through electronic sensors issued to them. This would not affect wait lines on either side of the border and inspections would continue.
Larbi-Cherif said the technology upgrade was necessary because the current system was installed in 2000. The money will be from a State Infrastructure Bank loan, which will be paid back in 10 to 15 years.
"If everything goes well, we will start installations in December and they will be working by January," Larbi-Cherif said. "It will just be more convenient when going south."
The kiosks currently being recommended by the international bridges department will cost about $50,000 each, or $200,000 total, to install.
A decision on what type of kiosk will be installed is being determined.
City Rep. Susie Byrd said she wants to explore options around possibly installing machines that accept Mexican and U.S. money.
"I'm not just looking at it from a revenue standpoint," Byrd said. "We want to encourage everyone to come over and spend money at our shops and restaurants. Forcing them to take a step further and convert from pesos to dollars could send the wrong message."
Twenty percent of the revenue collected from El Paso's international tolls is in Mexican pesos, according to a presentation given by Larbi-Cherif.
City Rep. Cortney Niland said the city should not spend more money just to have kiosks that accept both currencies. She said most travelers carry dollars because most stores in El Paso do not take pesos.
Niland said if the cost of the kiosks taking both forms of money would be the same, then she would be in favor of using those machines, too.
"I think we do need to move forward on these (U.S. money-only) kiosks, especially if (ones that take pesos) are going to cost two or three times more," she said. "Once we move forward on installing the software, we can get the kiosks on the ground."
http://www.elpasotimes.com/newupdated/ci_18507160
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Old 07-20-2011, 07:12 AM
Twoller Twoller is offline
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These kind of operations could do a lot to monitor illegals. It would be interesting to know if that is what is being done now.
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Old 07-20-2011, 07:26 PM
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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
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