Borderplex GridlockJaime Muniz, Arien Hardin, Michael Maillet

El Paso-Juarez

• Second largest binational metropolitan area on the United States-Mexico border

• Population of 2.7 million people (and growing)

• Thousands of individuals cross the border daily for wok and school• 14,000 on foot• Thousands more via vehicle

The Problem?

• We have been contracted by Quezada Management Services, (QMS) to assist El Paso in identifying a feasible, competitive transportation project.

• Ultimate goal is to improve cross border movements of both individuals and goods

Options Available

• Subway

• Highway/Bridge

• Increase the Number of Lanes Open

• Freight Shuttle

Pros of Public Transportation

• Saves fuel

• Reduces Congestion on roads

• Provides jobs

• Drives community growth

• Reduces carbon footprint

Potential Subway Line

• 10.9 km of track stretching from Parque Central Hermanos Escobar in Juarez, Mexico to San Jacinto Square in El Paso, TX

• Estimated cost of 981 million dollars

• Aims to cut down crossing time to just 30 minutes

Pros of Subway

• Safer than driving

• Quicker than driving

• Cheaper than driving

• No maintenance needed by rider

Cons of Subway

• Time constraints (Riders are limited to the schedules set forth by line operators)

• Potential delays

• Noise/Heavy Crowding/Spread of Disease

• Criminal Activity

Highway

• If a highway is built it must:

- Connect El Paso and Juarez,

- Make the flow of traffic to and from easier,

- Be within the budget.

• The average cost to build a 4-lane highway in an area like El Paso ranges between $8-10 million.

Idea:

• There are currently three bridges that connect El Paso and Juarez: Paso del Norte Bridge Stanton Street Bridge Ysleta Bridge

• Paso del Norte Bridge: Located at 1000 S. El Paso Street 4 lanes Serving northbound and southbound pedestrians Serving only northbound passenger vehicles(non-commercial vehicles)

Idea cont’d..

• Stanton Street Bridge: Located at 1001 S. Stanton 4 Lane 3 for southbound vehicle passenger travel 1 for SENTRI or Dedicated Commuter Lane(DLC) Southbound pedestrians

• Ysleta Bridge: Located at 791 S. Zaragoza Split into two bridges; one for commercial, one for passenger vehicle travel and

pedestrians Vehicle bridge has 5 lanes Commercial bridge has four lanes

Idea cont’d..

• Rather than build a brand new highway, we should reconstruct one of the bridges that we already have and possibly expand the number of lanes of the bridge so that:• Flow of transportation is more efficient for commercial and non-

commercial vehicles making it easier to transport goods and people back and forth.

• We will save money because it will be less expensive to reconstruct than to build a brand new highway

- Price to reconstruct is around $8.9 million

Increase the Number of Lanes open.

• Currently the main issue affecting pedestrians and motor vehicles crossing ny of the international bridges connecting El Paso to Juarez is the long wait times.

• Lack of available CBP agents results in only 3 to 4 lanes open at any given time. Rarely are all the available lanes open at these El Paso/Juarez points of entry.

• This results in 2-3 hours waiting times especially in the holidays.

The Proposal

• The Proposal is to bring down the waiting times at the El Paso/Juarez points of entry by increasing the number of lanes open at any given time.

• Decrease waiting times down to 30 min.

• Decrease emissions given out by the motor vehicles idling for long periods of time.

• Increase local, national, and international growth.

The Proposal Continuation

In order to increase the number of lanes open at the bridges the funding issue to hire more CBP agents must first be resolved.

One proposal is to increase the toll fee at the El Paso/Juarez bridges this would generate 3.1 million in revenue.

This would increase trade between:

• El Paso/Juarez

• US/Mexico

• Increase revenue for US and El Paso companies.• Increase the number of available jobs in US and El Paso.

The Proposal Continuation

Another proposal is to charge a fee to US bound vehicles using the BOTA.

BOTA-is a the federally-controlled international bridge, was established by the Chamizal Convention of 1963.

The fee would be imposed on commercial traffic at a border safety inspection site located near BOTA. That site is owned by the Texas Department of Transportation and operated by the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Another proposal is to use the Metropolitan Planning Organization(MPO) in order to raise the funds.

MPO is a federally mandated and federally funded transportation policy-making organization in the US that is made up of representatives from local government and governmental transportation authorities. MPOs receive federal, state and local funding to help cities plan transportation projects.

Freight Shuttle

• Another proposal that would increase trade and promote local, national and international growth would be to construct a Universal Freight Shuttle that would transport unmanned freight between El Paso and Juarez.

• Freight shuttle would consists of guideways at the border linking El Paso and Juarez.

• This would move unmanned transport cargo vehicles using electric motors.

Freight Shuttle Continuation

• Advantages for the project would be less congestion on the border and in near by street in the El Paso area.

• It would increase trade between Mexico and the US by limiting the amount of time cargo reaches it destination.

• It would also increase trade by limiting fuel consumption and increasing the amount of trade that can be transported.

• This would also decrease the amount of emissions produced by idling vechicles.

Freight Shuttle Continuation

• The Disadvantages with the Freight Shuttle would be the cost of constructing the shuttle system.

• Estimated Cost for the construction of this integrate system would range somewhere near 100 million.

• This system is more reliable and safer system than our current system.

• This system would attract more clients in the maquiladora industry among others.

• It would also help capture some of the business that El Paso has lost over the years.

Conclusion

• We have listed our 4 proposal ideas in order from least costly to most costly and have also taken into consideration the impact each project will have on the El Paso/Juarez area.

1. Increase the Number of Open Lanes

2. Highway/Bridge

3. Freight Shuttle

4. Subway

Conclusion

To conclude our proposal, we have described four ways that we can improve conditions in the El Paso/Juarez points of entry. The conditions would improve significantly by limiting the waiting times down to only 30 min. The lowering the wait times will also lower emissions transferred into the atmosphere by idling vehicles, improving environmental conditions for El Paso and Juarez. These projects will not only make trading between countries more efficient but will also generate opportunities to create more jobs in both bordering cities.