PORTS TO PLAINS UPDATE: FROM THE VICE CHAIR OF LEGISLATIVE & GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

By:  Otila Gonzalez
Mr. John N. Bertsch, CFP, Chairman of the  Ports-to-Plains Alliance reports on the accomplishments of the Ports-to-Plains Alliance as including a quarter of a billion dollars in the 22 Texas projects on the corridor either completed in 2013, under construction, or set for construction to begin 2014.  Mexico has taken steps to initiate a $2.28 billion dollar Mazatlán-Durango highway project to provide a gateway from the Pacific Coast to connect with the Ports-to-Plains Corridor.
The 2013 construction projects on the Ports-to-Plains Alliance Corridor include one project in South Dakota, two projects in Nebraska, ten projects in North Dakota, and twenty-two projects in Texas.  The 22 Texas projects represent projects that extend from the Texas Panhandle all the way to Webb County and beyond.  The report also lists the feasibility studies launched in Mexico and the U.S. for new bridges at Acuña/Del Rio as part of the expansion activities
With the federal transportation funding bill expiring on September 30 of this year, the PTP Alliance is working to ensure that the new transportation bill adequately funds the infrastructure needed for the Ports-to-Plains Corridor.
Local members of the Ports-to-Plains Alliance include the City of Del Rio, Val Verde County, Del Rio Area Development Foundation, Del Rio Chamber of Commerce, and our own Del Rio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.  Del Rio is scheduled to host the Annual Ports-to-Plains Alliance Conference in October 2014.

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