The New Service Enhances Commercial Trade with México
Texas Border Business –
Superintendent of International Bridges Rigoberto “Rigo” Villarreal, together with municipal, state and federal officials announced a new service where empty trucks return to México through the Anzalduas Bridge. The first truck rolled on through the Anzalduas International Bridge on Monday, August 22, 2016.
The process to get to this point became a challenge, nevertheless, the goal was accomplished.
“Thank you all for coming. I work for the City of McAllen and the Hidalgo International Bridge and Anzalduas International Bridge,” Rigo said. “I want to start with a famous quote by Henry Ford and it goes like this, ‘Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; and working together is a success.’ ”
He said that after a long journey that was not easy, the Anzalduas Bridge now is a designated international crossing for southbound truck empties. Rigo took notes of comments by bridge board members made during the difficult process to get the approval for the service to become a reality. This process should have been an easy task, but for some reason or another, it became a monumental endeavor that brought together high-ranking government officials to help.
McAllen Mayor Jim Darling commented during the process, “What’s the issue now?”; Mission Mayor Beto Salinas was more explicit, “Diles, beep, beep, beep.”; Hidalgo Mayor Martin Cepeda asked, “¿Cómo vamos?”; McAllen Commissioner John Ingram, “What’s taking so long?”; McAllen Commissioner Richard Cortez added, “I know it’s going to happen,”; McAllen Commissioner Veronica Vela Whitaker asked, “What’s the problem now?”; McAllen City Manager Roy Rodriguez said, “We need this thing done,”; “And that’s what we did, we got it done!” Rigo said.
The Anzalduas International Crossing is an enhancement for the commercial trade that the U. S. has with Mexico. Ever since the bridge was envisioned by leaders, each one of them has contributed valuable time and ideas culminating in today’s success.
Rigo continued, “We had the ball on the goal line many times, sometimes we fumbled and stumbled, but every time we got up and continued to move the ball forward.”
He said the new service is going to improve competitiveness for the region, reduce wait times, fuel consumption, and fuel emissions to our atmosphere. “So it’s a total enhancement,” Rigo told Texas Border Business.
McAllen City Manager Roel “Roy” Cantu, according to Rigo, is the one that invigorated the city with a wake-up and then gets it done attitude. Roy came to the podium to introduce Mayor Darling but before he said, “All of this has been a journey… going on now for some time.” He continued, “But just this day, just the fact that we’re getting our first commercial truck across Anzalduas, empty, but nevertheless it’s a full-size truck.” He added that two years ago they thought they were ready and as it turns out there were a couple of things that needed to be done.
“For every journey, for every task, for every job that we do in the City of McAllen, there is a leader, and that leader is Mayor Jim Darling.”
“This an exciting day.” Mayor Darling said, “You know, I was thinking about it on the way over, there’s been a lot of people involved in this project.” He continued, “In 1985 is when the City Commission first talked about building an additional bridge. And at the time there were no other bridges other than the Hidalgo/McAllen bridge, so it was evident, the need for additional bridges in our county, not only to serve the many of our neighbors from Mexico coming across but certainly as we developed the maquiladora industry it became even more pertinent.”
He said that in 1999, through the help of a lot of people, they got the bridge permit, and it took 14 years to do that. Also, he said, that from 1999 to 2009 the bridge was built. “It took ten years, and from 2009 when we built this bridge until now it’s been seven years.”
He said that it is good for the maquiladora industry and will increase commerce between the two countries. He said, “But not only is it good for the City of McAllen, the City of Hidalgo, the City of Mission and the City of Granjeno, but it’s also good for our neighbors in Mexico and certainly for The Valley here today.”
He said that U. S. Senator John Cornyn was instrumental throughout this journey of getting the empty southbound trucks. He also acknowledged Congressmen Ruben Hinojosa and Henry Cuellar.
Mayor Darling said that Mission Mayor Norberto Salinas had been part of the project for a long time. “We’ve been great partners with the City of Mission in a lot of different ways, and this is one good example of that. We couldn’t have done it without his leadership, his knowledge of federal procedures, his experience with people in Washington, and so we have a substantial debt with the City of Mission, but most importantly with Norberto Salinas.”
“Thank you, and thank you all for being here today.” Mayor Salinas said, “It’s been a long venture for us. Since 1998 when I became Mayor of the City of Mission and I’ve been through this in partnership with the City of McAllen. I appreciate McAllen and Hidalgo for the same purpose of helping us in the City of Mission,” he finalized.
Then, Martin Cepeda, Hidalgo Mayor, said that this was a historic event. “This project opens up another channel for the flow of business across our borders, and it is a critical one.”
Mayor Cepeda said that Mexico is the United States’ third largest commercial partner. He added, “Every day, $1.5 billion in trade and investment comes through the U. S. borders supporting more than one million jobs in this country.”
Next to the podium came Angela Irwin, the U. S. Consul in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico. She said, “To me, this is a testament to how solid the Rio Grande Valley is and how important trade and commerce are between the Rio Grande Valley and Mexico, between Texas and Tamaulipas, and between the United States and Mexico.”
U. S. Senator John Cornyn was not present, but his representative Annie Garcia brought a message from him. “Dear friends, it is a pleasure to send my congratulations as you gather to mark the opening and passage of the southbound commercial vehicles through the Anzalduas Bridge. This significant development and expansion will foster economic growth and expansion in the region, and I am thankful that this has become a reality. Trade partnerships with Mexico greatly benefit the Texas economy, as well as foster international trade for the United States. Very sincerely, John Cornyn.”
Texas State Representative Sergio Muñoz said, “On behalf of Senator Hinojosa and myself, this is an initiative that we can continue to expand. Initiatives like our overweight, oversized corridor bill, and the agricultural inspector grant program; these projects show the importance of international trade, that promote economic investment opportunity for our bridges, communities, and to show people that the area that we represent is open for business.”
Congressman Rubén Hinojosa, said, “It’s truly a pleasure for me to witness the Anzalduas International Bridge’s first commercial truck southbound crossing. It was long awaited, long overdue, but from this point forward, we are going to see tremendous amounts of revenue coming into this region, and of course helping us as we improve our relationship with our friends to the south, and that’s the relationship between Texas and Mexico.”
Congressman Henry Cuellar has also worked on the bridge project for quite some time. He sent this message, “I write to congratulate you and cities of McAllen, Mission, Hidalgo, and Granjeno, on this construction of the southbound lane for commercial trucks, on this momentous milestone.” He continued, “I have been working on modernizing our land ports of entry, and improving U. S./Mexican relationships, are two of my top priorities. This project is an important example of how investment and cooperation in infrastructure from both sides of the border, can improve the flow of commercial traffic, and improve our ports of entry. The infrastructure improvements at Anzalduas International Bridge are being made possible through the innovative partnership of cost sharing revenues with Mexico.”
Mexican Consul, Guillermo Ordorica, said, “I want to say this to all my friends, the border does not divide countries that are friends. The border unites their will; it makes things work together. In this sense, we are happy, enthusiastic, thankful for the work that the three Mayors from McAllen, Mission, and Hidalgo have done. Congratulations to the two governments that have been able to join forces, that will continue working as two countries that have independent political situations and have proven to be loyal friends, trustworthy partners, and good neighbors,” he finalized. TBB
