Planning is now underway for the long-delayed expansion of the Bridge of the Americas Port of Entry which connects El Paso with Juarez.
The project late last year secured $600 million in federal funding via the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
The bridge, located some 3 miles to the east of downtown El Paso, was completed and opened in 1967. It annually serves more than 3.8 million crossings, a number that has been steadily increasing over the last decade.
Local officials say the bridge is not adequate for current traffic volumes.
An updating project would include modernizing the facility’s technology and implementing carbon reduction strategies. That technology will specifically be used by the US Customs and Border Protection agency to detect drug trafficking and increase overall security.
According to a press release issued earlier this year by the General Services Administration, the project will also “improve traffic flow and decrease wait times.”
At the time of the bridge’s opening in the fall of 1967, President Lyndon Johnson met Mexican President Gustavo Diaz Ordaz at the halfway point for a well-choreographed handshake.
An exact timetable for when actual work on the bridge will begin remains to be announced.
By Garry Boulard
