U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced May 20 two developments aimed at improving the facilitation and security of trade crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.
Canadian Pacific Kansas City railway has donated a vehicle and cargo inspection system integrated rail 6500 system that will allow for 100 percent scans of all trains traveling through the Laredo, Texas, rail port of entry. This system features a radiation portal monitor that detects, locates, and categorizes radiation threats. It is now operational on the Patrick J. Ottensmeyer International Railway Bridge connecting Laredo to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, that earlier this year added a second span.
In addition, Cameron County, Texas, and the Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority have invested more than $17 million toward infrastructure improvements at the Los Tomates port of entry in Brownsville, including the addition of four new privately-owned vehicle primary lanes, eight expanded secondary inspection bay spaces, and a state-of-the-art head house. These changes are complete and should be fully operational in the next couple of months, which should ease vehicle commute time and border trade.
These projects were completed under the Donations Acceptance Program, which allows CBP to accept donations of real property, personal property (including monetary donations), and non-personal services from private-sector and government entities for port of entry construction, alterations, operations, and maintenance activities.
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