Arizona, Mexico Benefit from Nearly $1 Billion in Ports of Entry Expansion
One of the things that gets lost when people talk about Arizona’s border with Mexico is the enormous amount of revenue generated in cross-border trade.
The Arizona Association for Economic Development recently held a Southern Arizona Summit on Sept. 10 to take a deep dive into the impact of the ports of entry for the state and the communities where they are located.
The first session focused on Bridging Borders: Investing in Arizona-Mexico Border Infrastructure for Economic Growth featuring Jennifer Smith, director of community services and economic development for the City of Douglas; Donald Huish, mayor of the City of Douglas; Josh Rubin, chairman of the Greater Nogales Santa Cruz County Port Authority; and Matias Rosales, councilmember of the City of San Luis and board president of the Greater Yuma Port Authority. The panel discussion was moderated by Kevin Burke, deputy director of the City of Tucson Office of Economic Initiatives.
The three busiest ports of entry, San Luis in Yuma, Nogales and Douglas collectively generate about $37 billion in cross-border import and exports annually. In Nogales, $9 million in produce crosses the border each day.
When it comes to inspections of goods crossing the border, especially when it comes to produce, the federal government is investing in these ports of entry to make is quicker for trucks to cross and get onto their destinations.
The San Luis Port of Entry is currently undergoing a $307.5 million expansion because it has higher traffic volumes than it was designed to accommodate. The northbound lanes for private vehicles will expand from eight to 16 and will also include a second vehicle processing area as well as canopies to cover them. The southbound lanes will have fixed inspection infrastructure and the pedestrian inspection lanes will increase from 10 to 14.
Construction started in May 2023 and is expected to be completed by Spring 2029.
The Douglas Port of Entry will receive a $400 million makeover to relocate the commercial inspection operations from the current Raul Hector Castro Port to the new Douglas Land Port of Entry, five miles west. This will significantly expand commercial vehicle inspection capacity and allow the processing of oversized mining equipment that is too large to cross through the Castro Port.
Relocating the commercial operations will also support municipal redevelopment in Douglas’ historic downtown district and help transform Douglas into a 21st century regional tourism gateway and commercial transportation hub and could potentially double the population of Douglas in 10 years.
Construction is expected to start in the fall of 2025 and be mostly completed in the fall of 2028.
The DeConcini Land Port of Entry is currently undergoing a feasibility study to understand the major improvements that need to be made to the port that was built in 1931 to support Prohibition-era border inspections.
The old border station was mostly demolished in 1994 and replaced with the current facility that is now too small to accommodate the 2.5 million pedestrians and 7 million vehicles that cross each year resulting in long border crossing wait times. If approved construction could start in seven to 10 years.
