Getting things done for El Paso: Our Transportation "Fair Share"
July 27, 2006
El Paso is growing by leaps and bounds. We are seeing the addition of new neighborhoods, new schools and new businesses. As we grow, El Paso will also need to grow its transportation infrastructure.
Written by Senator Eliot Shapleigh, www.shapleigh.org
El Paso is growing by leaps and bounds. In every part of our city, we are seeing the addition of new neighborhoods, new schools and new businesses.
As we grow, El Paso will also need to grow its transportation infrastructure.
While we continue to need roads and mass transit to get to work and play, much of our border economy is increasingly reliant on "Just-in-Time" and "Zero-Inventory" manufacturing and delivery methods. The modern economy is driven by a need for the speedy delivery of products and raw materials, making reliable transportation systems vital to continued economic growth.
Ten years ago, the El Paso Texas Department of Transportation District (TxDOT) was faced with serious challenges. Traffic congestion, compounded by a growing population and the constant need for construction and repair, was at the top of the list. Drivers stuck in traffic were frustrated by the time and money they wasted and the flow of trade that supported, not only El Paso's economy, but Texas' economy as well, was threatened.
Realizing that increased infrastructure is vital to the prosperity of the community and the future of our state, Senator Shapleigh has been fighting tirelessly for El Paso’s "fair-share" of transportation dollars.
El Paso lies at the heart of the nation's second largest trade corridor into Mexico, comprising almost 20 percent of all international trade with Mexico under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Ten years ago, after decades of neglect along the Texas-Mexico border, El Paso, a community of approximately 700,000 residents, was in dire need of infrastructure improvements.
Prior to the 1994 El Paso Court of Inquiry on state transportation funding, the El Paso Transportation District had been seriously underfunded with respect to state highway funds. As a result of the arduous work in the Court of Inquiry and the decade Senator Shapleigh has spent in public office fighting in Austin for El Paso's fair-share, annual funding for El Paso's infrastructure projects is now almost six times higher than it was 12 years ago.
El Paso's transportation funding has increased from $26 million in 1994 to $152 million in 2004.