EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – Mexican officials are coming to the rescue of an El Paso County-managed port of entry under the gun to increase commercial traffic pronto.
The Chihuahua state Fideicomiso de Puentes Fronterizos on March 18 reduced commercial tolls by 50% at the Marcelino Serna Port of Entry in Tornillo, Texas. That mirrors a commitment by the private construction company Coconal to halve tolls along a new highway built to funnel trucks entering Juarez, Mexico, from the south to the Far East El Paso County international bridge.
Tolls for trucks are now 60 pesos to 122 pesos ($3.58 to $7.28), according to the Chihuahua state government.
The incentives are meant to increase daily truck crossings from the current 30 to 50 a day, to 200 a day, as requested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said Sergio Coronado, El Paso County Commissioner for Precinct 4.
“We met with them back in January, not just Coconal but transportation companies, logistics companies, the maquiladora association and government officials about the urgency to increase commercial traffic to keep the federal government from closing it down,” Coronado said.
CBP originally asked local stakeholders to reach the goal by March 31 but county officials believe they will be given more time.
“Because they see the efforts from county and other organizations, and because traffic has increased a little bit already, right now they’re on a monitoring stage,” Coronado said.
CBP began processing commercial traffic at the Marcelino Serna Port of Entry on March 2016 but suspended operations a year later for lack of use. The port reopened to trucks last August.
Impact on quality of life, Texas economy
El Paso County wants the crossing to succeed, not just to help spur economic development in the Tornillo-Fabens area, but also to spell residents of Central El Paso the pollution from commercial trucks utilizing the Bridge of the Americas. That port of entry is slated for renovations in about two years, and that will force other ports to absorb its truck traffic, at least temporarily.
“We need to look at ports of entry in the region as a system: When one closes down, there should be other options available for folks to get their cargo across,” said David Stout, El Paso County Commissioner for Precinct 2. “I’m pushing to remove truck traffic from Bridge of the Americas even after it is modernized. There are neighborhoods adjacent to the port of entry and trucks obviously release contaminants into the air that are not good for their health.”
Stout is confident the lower tolls in Mexico will increase truck traffic in Tornillo. “It’s something that I’m very happy with.”
Coronado said a higher truck volume is just one of the challenges at the port. Others include building a transfer station so that Mexican trucks can offload their cargo and U.S. trucks can get it to their destination. Another is building office space for customs brokers on both sides.
“We are hoping for (federal investment), but there’s a presidential election coming up in Mexico and I hope that doesn’t stall this project because it’s to the benefit of both countries, especially the state of Chihuahua and the surrounding states that send cargo to our area,” Coronado said.
He also warned the remaining commercial ports in the greater El Paso area – Ysleta-Zaragoza and Santa Teresa, New Mexico – could get “overrun” when Bridge of the Americas closes cargo processing due to renovations if the feds have shut down Tornillo by then.
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