MISSION, Texas (Border Report) — Powerful state leaders who hold the keys to billions of dollars in Texas transportation funds toured the Rio Grande Valley on Monday to see infrastructure projects on the border first-hand.
Leaders of both the Texas House and Senate transportation committees were among those who toured the region.
Texas state Sen. Robert Nichols, a Republican who chairs the Senate Transportation Committee, and State Rep. Terry Canales, a Democrat from Edinburg who chairs the House Transportation Committee, were both part of the group that met at the Anzalduas International Bridge for a roundtable discussion with U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials.
The bridge is currently undergoing an $83 million expansion that should be completed in February 2025 and will allow fully loaded commercial trucks to cross back and forth to Reynosa, Mexico, from this busy port of entry.
The roundtable discussion was closed to media, but Nichols told Border Report afterward that he is impressed with the unity among Rio Grande Valley lawmakers who “advocate for this area. That’s the most unique thing I see. Something so large and yet local officials all come together,” he said.
Nichols is a former member of the Texas Department of Transportation commission and “is an extremely important person when it comes to this region seeking not only the extra funding that it needs but the support that it needs in the Texas House and Senate to move this region forward from an infrastructure standpoint,” Canales told Border Report.
Texas state Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, is vice chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. He said he was glad to show Nichols around and meet with other lawmakers as they gear up to present pitches for more transportation funds from the state in the upcoming Texas Legislature.
“We have a backlog of trucking companies in Mexico that are waiting to cross. Right now it takes forever. So time is money. The faster they can come across and deliver the goods and products, the better it will be in terms of expanding our economy,” Hinojosa said.
Several lawmakers said the biggest goal for the region to have the new International Bridge Trade Corridor (IBTC) completed by 2029.
The State of Texas has approved $237 million for a new International Bridge Trade Corridor highway that will connect five South Texas ports of entry to better foster trade with Mexico.
Canales says the IBTC will be a boon for the region that will allow 18-wheeler trucks loaded with goods from Mexico to move quickly north onto highways and out of neighborhoods.
The International Bridge Trade Corridor is a 13-mile, four-lane divided non-toll highway that is to be built in Hidalgo County to better connect the international bridges that are located between the towns of Pharr to Donna.
Anzalduas International Bridge is farther west, but by expanding it lawmakers say it will reduce the wait times at the Pharr International Bridge, which is the No. 1 international port of entry in the United States for agriculture.
“There’s a lot of construction going on. We have over 1 billion dollars under contract right now here in deep South Texas. And so these projects are all intended to help move freight and trade, if you will, and connect our region as a whole,” said Pete Alvarez, TXDOT engineer based in Pharr.
Sandra Sanchez can be reached at SSanchez@BorderReport.com.