New Port Of Entry Opens Along West Texas Border

By Mónica Ortiz Uribe
February 04, 2016
The
Mónica Ortiz Uribe
The Tornillo-Guadalupe port of entry in far west Texas was inaugurated Thursday. It stands 30 miles southeast of El Paso and is surrounded by farmland.

Officials from the United States and Mexico inaugurated a new border crossing in far west Texas on Thursday as part of an ongoing effort to improve aging infrastructure between both countries. 

The new Tornillo-Guadalupe port of entry was once called "The Bridge To Nowhere" because of construction delays and its remote location. It stands 30 miles southeast of El Paso and is surrounded by farmland. U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Penny Pritzker, was optimistic before an audience that included Mexico's President Enrique Peña Nieto.

"This new international bridge and port of entry facility will increase capacity, open a new path to Mexican customers, provide relief to the long lines and congestion often experienced in this region and make border more secure," Pritzker said.

Trade between the United States and Mexico is worth more than half a trillion dollars annually, six times greater than when the North American Free Trade Agreement went into effect 22 years ago.

This new port of entry replaces one built in 1938. It has four passenger vehicle lanes and two commercial lanes, both capable of future expansion.