REMARKS FOR
THE HONORABLE MARY PETERS
SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION
GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY FOR THE SAN LUIS II BORDER CROSSING AND ROBERT A. VAUGHN
EXPRESSWAY
YUMA, AZ
FEBRUARY 15, 2008
1:30 PM
Good afternoon. Thank you, Peter, for that gracious introduction. Governor
Napolitano, Administrator Doan and Commissioner Winkowski, thank you for your
help in seeing this project through to fruition. Thanks also to San Luis Mayor
Escamilla and Chairman Magrino with the Yuma Port Authority for your tireless
efforts in support of the San Luis II Border Crossing and the Robert A. Vaughn
Expressway.
I would be remiss not to mention the construction workers, planners and
architects who will literally get the job done. Together, we are making a strong
investment in Arizona’s, and the nation’s, economy.
I’ve been involved with this project since my days at ADOT and in fact worked
very closely with Robert on this endeavor. I am so happy that he is here with us
today, watching us break ground on the project he worked so hard to see
completed. Without his determined, persistent efforts, this expressway would
never have been built.
Hard working men and women in places like Yuma understand how important trade is
to the strength of our economy and the success of our country. They’ve seen the
benefits of increased commerce between the U.S. and Mexico, and they’re reaped
the rewards that come from the $332 billion worth of shipping that crosses our
shared border every year.
They realize that the best way to prosper as a community and to thrive as a
nation is to encourage and support even more of that trade. That is why so much
of the funding for this expressway has come from local sources.
When they saw an opportunity to build a vital new link to Interstate 8, they
took it. And as a result, this region and this state are far better positioned
to take advantage of one of the latest and most exciting developments to occur
when it comes to cross border trucking…the new ability for U.S. truck drivers
and U.S. truck companies to compete in Mexico.
For as long as anyone can remember, U.S. trucks have been prohibited from doing
business in Mexico. As a result, for decades now, every one of the thousands of
trucks that daily crosses the border has belonged to Mexican companies, and
every penny those trucks have ever earned has gone to Mexican businesses.
All that changed last year, when for the first time ever we were able to
negotiate an historic agreement to allow U.S. trucks to begin operating in
Mexico.
As a result, truckers from Peoria to Portland now have an opportunity to benefit
from the multi-billion dollar cross-border shipping industry. American workers
and American businesses stand to profit every time a truck bring goods across
our border, because for the first time ever, that truck can actually by owned
and operated right here in the U.S.
Unfortunately there are some who would seek to deny U.S. truckers these new
opportunities. They think people want to be shielded from competition, protected
from opportunity and denied success.
They think there’s nothing wrong with inefficient trucking along our border that
clogs our air and jams our streets. And they think there’s nothing wrong with
turning our back on billions of dollars worth of trade, opportunity and
earnings.
Let me tell you, they haven’t been to Yuma and they haven’t met people like you.
If they did, they would know families and businesses in places like this see
competition and trade as a path to opportunity, and a road to success.
And there is no greater sign or more fitting symbol of this boundless optimism
and this limitless confidence than the road and the crossing we start today.
Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your celebration.
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Briefing
Room
