Ports to Plains

City and county officials have been notified of approvals for $7.5 million of TxDOT and Federal Highway Administration funds to create a new relief route from Qualia Drive to Spur 239, to repave battered industrial roads, and to move the city’s bridge collections to the new POE headquarters, soon to be constructed on Spur 239. But affected landowners where an approved right-of-way for the Qualia bypass may be planned will have to wait until next fall to learn about possible impacts on their property.

The final leg of Bill Sontag’s journey over the 1,300-mile Ports-To-Plains Corridor, from Laredo to Denver, appears on maps to be nothing more than a spur from the main route. In fact, this revamp to four-lane, divided roadway to connect Texas and New Mexico is being pursued more aggressively than any other segment, due in part to the personal interest of New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. Moreover, at least one pivotal community is enthused about the transformation of traffic and commerce the revitalization may provoke. Clayton Mayor Garth Boyce describes his hopes and aspirations, pinned to a great extent on what PTP corridor inclusion may bring.

The Ports-To-Plains Corridor, passing through Del Rio on its route from Laredo to Denver, Colorado, may offer a measure of economic and social stability for dozens of communities along its path to the Great Plains. Del Rio, Eagle Pass and Laredo ports of entry have demonstrably increased Mexican trade traffic in Colorado, according to Ports-To-Plains Coalition officials, constituting nearly 84 percent of all Mexican trade in the Colorado portion of the corridor.

Ports-To-Plains Coalition President Michael Reeves says putting the 1,300-mile trade route into tip-top condition will cost $2.8 million. But, analysts say the effort will create 40,000 jobs and boast a benefit/cost ratio of 3:1. Here’s the second part in a continuing series on what needs to be done, how the corridor looks now, and what travelers can expect, whether they’re tourists or truckers.

The Ports-To-Plains Corridor stands a good chance of infusing both money and incentive into small towns of southwest Texas, as development of a network of improved U.S. highways takes commercial hauling on more direct routes to destinations between the U.S./Mexico border and the U.S./Canada border. Toward those ends, the Ports-To-Plains Coalition Board of Directors, chaired by Del Rioan Sid Cauthorn, has acquired a powerful presence on Capitol Hill, amassed an impressive, organized data base, and secured project partnerships in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Colorado.