Texas Study Airs Infrastructure Needs at the Border
The Texas and U.S. departments of transportation have failed to provide adequate funding for sorely needed border infrastructure such as more roads to facilitate truck traffic that is growing rapidly because of the North American Free Trade Agreement, according to a Texas Senate report on transportation funding in the state.The 65-page examination of transportation problems at the U.S.-Mexico border also included a laundry list of 200 recommendations for changes.
Authored by the Texas Senate Committee on Border Affairs under the chairmanship of Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., the report examined the role and importance of transportation infrastructure and international trade to the Lone Star state. The “border” is defined as the 22-county region in the immediate vicinity of the Rio Grande international river and includes the areas around the Pharr, Laredo and El Paso border crossings.
City and state officials expressed frustration with the lack of funding and development for border infrastructure. McAllen Mayor Leon Montalvo said, “The state needs to receive a wake-up call that without the border, the rest of the state cannot prosper.”
