DOT Moves to Expedite Projects to Relieve U.S. Border Congestion

(WorldTrade Interactive)

The Department of Transportation has announced a new Transportation Border Congestion Relief Program, which is designed to help states identify and implement innovative solutions to the congestion at U.S. land borders. As part of this program the DOT plans to select at least two surface transportation projects, a minimum of one each on the Canadian and Mexican borders, that can serve as models for alleviating current or forecasted border congestion. Applications for such projects are due by June 30.

The DOT states that it has created the TBCRP because of the significance of border transportation to the U.S. economy. More than 17 million truckloads of freight crossed U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico in 2005, carrying over half of the $711 billion in products the U.S. traded with those two countries. The value of freight shipments among the three NAFTA partners has risen by 170 percent since 1990 and is growing by an average of eight percent annually.

“These huge numbers are putting a serious strain on the transportation network at and near our international land border crossings,” the DOT states, “frustrating individuals, families, and commerce with negative impacts on quality of life, efficiency, and prudent use of resources.”

The TBCRP is designed to address these problems by demonstrating how non-traditional transportation project finance, delivery and operation mechanisms can be used to improve land border travel times and facilitate trade and travel without compromising the security of U.S. borders.