Texas, Laredo Disagree on Location for Inspections

Officials in Laredo, Texas, are battling the state over the location of border inspection stations mandated by the federal government as Mexican carriers prepare to move their rigs farther into the United States this summer under the North American Free Trade Agreement.

State officials want the stations close to the border bridges. But Laredo Mayor Elizabeth G. Flores said inspections should be just outside the 20-mile commercial trade zones and away from the state’s two international bridges.

“I’ve told [the Texas Department of Transportation] if they back me up against a wall, I’ll sue,” Flores told Transport Topics. “I don’t want another non-revenue agency clogging up space and turning the international bridge[s] into a truck stop. We’re trying to protect the [trade] industry and make things work, and we don’t want the decision made without local input.”

For the full story, see the Feb. 25 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.