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DOT 180-04
Contact: Brian Turmail, Tel.: (202) 366-4570
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta Announces $31.2 Million in
Border Safety Grants to Texas and New Mexico
U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta today announced $31.2 million in
grants to improve border truck inspection facilities used to check trucks as
they enter the United States.
The Secretary announced grants for border facilities in Texas and New Mexico.
Texas will get $28.8 million for improvements to eight inspection facilities,
all along the state’s border with Mexico. New Mexico will receive $2.4 million
for improvements at its Santa Teresa and Columbus inspection sites.
“These grants give our border safety inspectors the facilities they need to make
sure that trucks crossing into the United States are safe for our roads and
highways,” Secretary Mineta said.
Mineta’s Deputy Chief of Staff, Martin Whitmer, traveled to El Paso, Texas to
make the announcement and see first-hand how inspectors perform safety checks on
trucks entering the U.S. “Through these grants, we will be better able to ensure
a balance between safety, and moving goods quickly and efficiently,” Whitmer
said.
The grant money will be used to pay for land for the construction of new
inspection stations or to construct or upgrade existing facilities and equipment
to handle growing truck traffic along the border, Mineta said.
Whitmer is scheduled to announce similar grants for Arizona and California at a
news conference tomorrow in San Luis, Arizona.
“By continuing to invest in facilities used for safety inspections of trucks
delivering goods to our country from Mexico, we are making the trip safer for
everyone – the truck drivers from Mexico and the people they share the roads
with here in the United States,” Mineta said.
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