Texas Transportation Chiefs Convene for Border Infrastructure Progress

Powerful state legislators who control billions of dollars in Texas transportation funds visited the Rio Grande Valley on Monday to view border infrastructure projects firsthand. Leaders from the Texas House and Senate transportation committees were among those who visited 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 among those who gathered at the Anzalduas International Bridge for a roundtable discussion with US Customs and Border Protection officials. The bridge is now receiving a $83 million extension that is expected to be finished in February 2025, allowing fully laden commercial vehicles to go back and forth to Reynosa, Mexico, from this major port of entry.

The roundtable session was restricted to the media, but Nichols later told Border Report that he is impressed by the solidarity among Rio Grande Valley lawmakers who “advocate for this area.” That is the most unique thing I saw. “Something so large, but local officials all come together,” he explained.

Nichols, a former member of the Texas Department of Transportation commission, “is an extremely important person when it comes to this region seeking not only the extra funding that it needs but also the support that it needs in the Texas House and Senate to move this region forward from an infrastructure standpoint,” Canales told Border Report.

The Senate Finance Committee’s deputy chairman is Texas state Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen. He said he was happy to show Nichols around and meet with other politicians as they prepare to deliver pitches for additional transportation funding from the state in the 2018 Texas Legislature.

“There is a backlog of transport businesses in Mexico waiting to cross. Right now, it takes forever. So time equals money. Hinojosa stated that the faster they can locate and distribute commodities and products, the better it will be for increasing our economy. Several MPs stated that the region’s main goal is to build the new International Bridge Trade Corridor (IBTC) by 2029.

The state of Texas has approved $237 million for a new International Bridge Trade Corridor highway, which will connect five South Texas ports of entry to improve trade with Mexico. Canales believes the IBTC will benefit the region by allowing 18-wheeler trucks loaded with commodities from Mexico to easily drive north onto highways and out of communities. The International Bridge Trade Corridor is a 13-mile, four-lane divided non-toll roadway planned for Hidalgo County to better connect the international bridges located between Pharr and Donna.

The Anzalduas International Bridge is further west, but politicians believe that expanding, it will reduce wait times at the Pharr International Bridge, the United States’ top international port of entry for agricultural goods.

“There is a lot of construction going on.” We currently have more than $1 billion under contract in deep South Texas. So all of these initiatives are intended to help move freight and trade, as well as connect our region as a whole,” said Pete Alvarez, a TxDOT engineer located in Pharr.