DOT Sets New Border Projects
Drivers and freight shippers will experience fewer delays at U.S. border crossings in California, Texas and Washington state due to new congestion-relief projects that will include public-private partnerships, the Department of Transportation said Friday.
Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said the projects would receive priority access to discretionary programs, including innovative financing, and “demonstrate the types of innovative solutions needed to immediately and effectively reduce border congestion.”
The projects will explore public-private partnerships, which combine traditional federal and state funds with private-sector expertise, which “can reduce project costs, speed project delivery and protect the taxpayer from project risks,” DOT said.
“Congestion at our borders is choking both travelers and commerce with excessive wait times and negatively impacting air quality,” Peters said. “By prioritizing the projects, we can improve the movement of people and goods across our borders and help to maintain these important economic lifelines.”
San Diego’s Otay Mesa East border project will create a new port of entry and a 2.7-mile, four-lane highway linked to California’s highway system to provide more capacity for traffic flow through the region.
In Laredo, Texas, the East Loop Bypass Project will build a new rail bridge across the border and new rail bypass around the city, adding rail capacity and improving safety, DOT said.
At the U.S. northern border, in Blaine, Wash., a project proposes to provide real-time border-crossing wait-times and other travel information through a combination of technologies.
