EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — The federal government’s General Services Administration is moving forward with a plan to upgrade the Bridge of Americas port of entry in South-Central El Paso using an alternative that would eliminate all commercial cargo operations at the bridge.
The federal government released its final Environmental Impact Statement on Friday, Jan. 3 after a 45-day comment period.
GSA said that it selected the “no-commercial vehicle” option as the “preferred alternative” for the project because it would “best fulfill its statutory mission and responsibilities, giving consideration to economic, environmental, technical and other factors.”
The federal government announced back in September that it was moving forward with the plan to improve and upgrade the Bridge of Americas that would exclude north- and southbound commercial traffic.
That launched a 45-day public comment period that has since ended.
The draft EIS released back in September analyzed three remaining alternatives for the project — one that included commercial traffic, one that eliminated commercial traffic, and one that examined making no improvements to the port of entry.
County Commissioner David Stout, who has supported the “no-commercial traffic” alternative, said this was “tremendous news” that the federal government is moving ahead with a future ban on commercial traffic at the bridge.
“I am so proud to be part of a community that fights together for health and quality of life, and very grateful to the GSA not only for hearing residents but for digging into the facts. This is a well-reasoned, data-backed conclusion that sets a standard for infrastructure, community, and business development,” Stout said in a statement sent to media.
The GSA final report cited “likely existing environmental justice impacts and impacts to children occurring disproportionately” in the area near the Bridge of the Americas.
The GSA said if the other alternatives for the project had been selected “these existing conditions would likely degrade further over time.”
According to Stout’s office, a record of decision will be published within 30 days and then if there are “no interruptions,” the federal government will proceed with entering into a contract and start work on the project.
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