$600 million from infrastructure bill to update Bridge of the Americas in El Paso

EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) — The Bridge of the Americas Port of Entry in South Central El Paso will receive more than $600 million for expansion and modernization projects as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, who recently urged the head of the General Services Administration to give El Paso’s ports of entry “full and fair consideration,” announced Thursday that the GSA transmitted investments plans for this port of entry to Congress.

The bipartisan infrastructure law, which President Biden signed into law on November 15, 2021, includes over $3.4 billion to update technology, reduce wait times, and decrease the carbon footprint of land ports of entry across the country.

“The economic prosperity of El Paso and the strength of our national supply chain relies on the trade flowing across our outdated land ports of entry,” Escobar said in a news release. “Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the much-needed modernization and expansion of the Bridge of the Americas Land Port of Entry will be fully funded.”

Escobar’s office said a feasibility study completed in November 2018 determined that the Bridge of the Americas, which opened in 1967, was not built for the national security mission of today, nor current trade and travel volumes. The feasibility study proposed a 5-year plan project with an estimated cost of $699,300,000.

Escobar said she looks forward to working closely with the GSA, the Department of Homeland Security, and community partners and stakeholders in this binational region “to ensure this project creates good-paying jobs, promotes economic growth and development, and reduces air pollution in the borderland.”

The border crossing currently processes passenger vehicles, pedestrians, and commercial traffic. In 2021, the bridge recorded more than 3.8 million crossings.