Texas Border Business
Texas Border Business
CIUDAD ACUÑA, Coahuila — Municipalities across Coahuila have agreed to coordinate infrastructure and economic development efforts along the Ciudad Acuña–Torreón Multimodal Highway Corridor, establishing a framework intended to strengthen transportation and trade connections between Mexico and the United States.
The agreement was signed Sept. 9 at the 2026 Ports-to-Plains Alliance Annual Conference in Ciudad Acuña, where nearly 300 government, transportation, business, and community representatives gathered to discuss cross-border trade, manufacturing, investment, nearshoring, reshoring, and international supply chains.
The intermunicipal Memorandum of Understanding brings together 20 Coahuila municipalities to promote the modernization, expansion and preservation of highway infrastructure along the Ciudad Acuña–Torreón route.
“This agreement brings 20 Coahuila municipalities together around a shared vision for safer transportation, stronger supply chains and expanded economic opportunity,” said Lauren Garduño, president and CEO of the Ports-to-Plains Alliance.
Garduño said the corridor connects Mexico’s industrial and commercial centers, the international border, and the planned I-27 corridor in the United States.
“By coordinating infrastructure planning, investment and economic-development efforts, these communities are strengthening their individual economies while building a more competitive and resilient North American trade network,” Garduño said.
The agreement calls for participating municipalities to work together to attract investment, integrate supply chains, expand commercial opportunities, promote trinational tourism and develop strategic projects.
Technical working groups will focus on infrastructure, logistics, mobility and economic development. The municipalities also agreed to share information, promote highway and logistics projects, pursue public and private investment, and coordinate efforts related to roadway safety and freight transportation.
Officials from Mexico, the United States, and Canada served as witnesses to the agreement. They included Coahuila Secretary of Economy Luis Eduardo Olivares Martínez; Garduño; Del Rio Mayor Al Arreola; Lubbock Mayor Mark McBrayer; Lubbock County Judge Curtis Parrish; and Alberta MLA Shane Getson, parliamentary secretary for economic corridor development.
Acuña Mayor Emilio Alejandro de Hoyos Montemayor said transportation connections affect communities beyond commerce.
“We share much more than geography,” de Hoyos said while discussing the role of infrastructure in connecting the region with North America and improving opportunities for families and future generations.
The MOU establishes an Intermunicipal Technical Committee and a Regional Follow-Up Technical Committee to coordinate future initiatives with the Coahuila state government and the Ports-to-Plains Alliance.
The agreement is a declaration of intent among the participating municipalities and has an initial four-year term beginning with its signing.
The Ports-to-Plains Alliance is a nonprofit coalition that advocates for transportation infrastructure connecting Texas with North Dakota, Canada, and Mexico.
