Money-swap arrangement allows RGV MPO to speed up Veterans Bridge project by four years

BROWNSVILLE, Texas- A project to improve inspection facilities at Veterans International Bridge at Los Tomates in Brownsville is being fast-forwarded four years thanks to an innovative money-swap arrangement.The Rio Grande Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization would not have had money in the budget for the project until 2026, even though it is shovel-ready. So, the executive director of the RGV MPO, Andrew Canon, approached other large MPOs around the state to see if they could help.The North Central Texas Council of Governments said they could help. They agreed to essentially loan RGV MPO $14.6 million for the Brownsville port of entry project. If they had not done this, NCT COG would have had to return its money back to the Texas Department of Transportation. In return, RGV MPO will give the $14.6 million back to NCT COG in 2026 from its so-called Category 7 funds - without interest.“It is a huge project we are going to advance four years,” Canon said, referring to the Veterans International Bridge project.NCT COG has already approved the money-swap deal. RGV MPO approved the swap at a board meeting last Thursday. Now, it must be approved by TxDOT. RGV MPO Chairman Ambrosio Hernandez said Veterans International Bridge is one of the major ports of entry for the Rio Grande Valley.“Any port of entry that gets optimized in a more expeditious manner is always a win for the Rio Grande Valley. We are proud we were able to help as the RGV MPO, to move this project along,” Hernandez said. Hernandez said fast-forwarding the inspection facilities project at Veterans International Bridge is all the more important because the USMCA trade agreement is ramping up. “The more bridges we have functioning, the better off we will all be. The more trade we get, the more jobs are created,” Hernandez said. “I congratulate the RGV MPO for moving on this project and any other project that serves the entire Rio Grande Valley.”Cameron County Commissioner David Garza is a member of the RGV MPO. He said the Veterans International Bridge project is important for the whole region. “It increases the capacity and the speed at which we can get trade and goods through the bridge and into the state of Texas and the rest of the nation,” Garza said. “It is important for mobility of product into our country from Mexico and we know that there chokeholds in different areas. Some of them (trucks) are backed up a day or two.”Advancing the Veterans International Bridge project by four years does a number of things, Garza explained.“It gets the project done but more importantly it also will save us dollars doing it at today’s cost versus the cost four years from now. Who knows what those costs might be,” Garza said.“We don’t want to wait four years and then find out that the dollars we have are not enough to cover what we are doing. This presented an opportunity for us to take advantage of someone’s excess dollars.”Garza added: “It is a win-win situation for everybody.”Editor’s Note: The main image accompanying the above news story shows an inspection facility at Veterans International Bridge at Los Tomates in Brownsville. (Photo: RGG/Steve Taylor)Go to www.riograndeguardian.com to read the latest border news stories and watch the latest news videos.