Persistence paid off on Tuesday when it was announced that Nogales will receive $199.4 million for the expansion of the Mariposa Port of Entry.

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

The funding will come from the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) through the American HYPERLINK "http://www.nogalesinternational.com/articles/2009/03/31/news/breaking_news/doc49d29bfa360d7550018069.txt" \t "undefined" Recovery and Reinvestment Act, said Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) in a telephone interview with the Nogales International.

The prize had been dangled once before a year ago in the form of $167.2 million for the expansion of the Mariposa port. But at the 11th hour, the Bush administration nixed the project from the fiscal plan in a move that remains an unsolved mystery.

"After many years of hard work, I am glad that one of the nation’s oldest ports of entry will get the attention it vitally deserves," Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano told the Nogales International in an e-mail.

As governor of Arizona, Napolitano was a staunch proponent of the project and worked with local stakeholders and the Arizona congressional delegation to obtain funding.

Also through the efforts of the Greater Nogales Santa Cruz County Port Authority, the project gained wide support not just from the Arizona congressional delegation, but from U.S. Customs and Border Protection and GSA.

The GSA’s Mexican counterpart, National Institute of Administration of National Assets, meanwhile, last year budgeted funding to plan an expansion component both at the port to complement the Mariposa project, and at inspection facilities 13 kilometers south of the border.

The Mariposa project calls for increasing the number of lanes from the current eight to 10 commercial lanes and 12 non-commercial lanes, making it one of the largest ports on the Mexican border. By comparison, the border at San Ysidro, Calif., has 24 lanes.

"Once complete, Mariposa will have the latest technology and newest infrastructure that will allow us to strengthen security and improve trade between Mexico and the United States," Napolitano said.

Safety is vital

Grijalva concurred. “Safety along our border is vital as Arizona continues to become more important in trade with Mexico. The funding is crucial in modernizing border infrastructure that will enhance security while promoting economic development and improving the quality of life in the border region.”

Noting that $13.7 million was previously approved by the feds for design, permits and some land acquisition for the reconfiguration of Mariposa, James B. Manson, chairman of the port authority, credited his predecessor, Terry Shannon Jr., for leading the charge to obtain federal funding during the past four years.

“This project is critical to the long-term growth and sustainability of our bi-national community. This will make Nogales more competitive, our region more prosperous and the nation much safer,” Manson said.

“We are traveling to Mexico on April 7 and will be participating in a bi-national meeting focused on the technical aspects of this project. With this announcement the meeting takes on a new level of interest and truly a sense of urgency,” he said.

The next task

An elated Shannon said Tuesday in a telephone interview on his way to Culiacan, Sinaloa, “Now it’s on to the next task. As I have always said, it will not do any good to expand the port of entry if we are going to have bottlenecks elsewhere.”

He anticipated that the port authority’s focus will now turn to working with the State of Arizona to decide and fund a more efficient “interconnect” from Mariposa to I-19 than the existing interchange.

Mariposa is Arizona’s largest gateway for international trade with nearly 300,000 tucks, 450,000 pedestrians and more than 1.2 million cars per year. Arizona State University Researchers forecast this volume will double by 2025.

About 4 billion pounds of fresh produce is shipped through Mariposa each year, or about 45 percent of the fresh produce consumed in the United States during the winter months.

The Mariposa port project took nearly two-thirds of the $300 million in the Recovery Act for renovating and construction at land ports of entry.

Mayor Octavio Garcia-Von Borstel said, “Years of speaking to Washington, D.C., with a united voice have paid off in a very big way, one which will achieve a first-class port of entry, and stimulate the local economy.

“We will do anything possible to see that local businesses and contractors are provided every opportunity to participate in this endeavor.”