TIMELINE OF ACTIVITIES

Below, you will find a brief history of Joint Working Committee (JWC) activities. Most recent activities are listed first.

Current Memorandum of Understanding between the United States Department of Transportation and the Mexican Secretariat of Communication and Transportation

Current Work Plan for the JWC

June
A US-Mexico JWC meeting was held on June 10-11 in Laredo, Texas. Minutes for the meeting can be found here.

December
A US-Mexico JWC meeting was held on December 4-5 in Tampico, Tamaulipas. Minutes for the meeting can be found here.

May
A US-Mexico JWC meeting was held on May 22-23 in San Diego, California. Minutes for the meeting can be found here.

November
A US-Mexico JWC meeting was held on November 7-8 in Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico. Minutes for the meeting can be found here.

May/June
A US-Mexico JWC meeting was held on May 31 and June 1 in Tucson, Arizona.
Minutes for the meeting can be found here.

April
U.S./Mexico Regional Innovative Finance Workshop for Border Projects: On April 25, a workshop was held to give regional decision makers an opportunity to receive technical assistance both from a public viewpoint (FHWA/Mexican Secretariat of Communication & Transportation) and a private viewpoint (Ratings agencies/Banks/Developers). Information provided at the workshop will allow state and local government officials in the U.S. and Mexico to develop the scope and operating characteristics of border zone projects in ways that encourage the private sector to consider investing in these projects. Attendees included representatives from FHWA, SCT, Caltrans, SIDUE, SANDAG, ImPLAN, the County of San Diego, and the Municipio of Tijuana.

This workshop is one of the U.S./Mexico Joint Working Committee's 2005-2007 work program tasks. Similar workshops are envisioned as a continuation of the August 2005 Innovative Finance Conference, which provided information to state and local government decision makers regarding the many public and private financing options available to accelerate critically-needed surface transportation projects. The outcomes of this regional workshop were presented at the May/June 2006 JWC meeting in Tucson, Arizona. Further regional workshops will be hosted and developed as the need arises, with the next workshop tentatively scheduled for late summer/early fall 2006.

Binational Symposium: On April 18-19, the US-Mexico Joint Working Committee on Transportation Planning sponsored a binational symposium in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. The goal was to emphasize safety in the planning process and to focus on border-related safety issues. Michael Halladay, Acting Associate Administrator for Safety, FHWA , Dr. Alberto Mendoza Diaz, Transportation Safety and Operations Coordinator of the Instituto Mexicano del Transporte for SCT, and Victor Mendez, Director of the Arizona Department of Transportation, were keynote speakers. They discussed the safety focuses in the United States, Mexico, and Arizona, respectively. The participants agreed that safety required more emphasis along the border. Next steps were identified and working groups will be developed to address the issues identified.

To view all of the presentations for the conference, go to: http://uac.sct.gob.mx/index.php?id=524

November
A JWC meeting was held in Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, Mexico on November 14-15.
Minutes for the meeting can be found here.

August
Border Finance Conference--"Innovative Solutions to Challenges to Financing Border Projects"
Sponsored by U.S. Department of Transportation and Mexico's Secretariat of Communication and Transport.

This conference took place on August 16 - 18, 2005 in San Antonio, Texas. The objective of the Border Finance Conference was to provide information to state and local government decision makers regarding the many public and private financing options available to accelerate critically-needed surface transportation projects. The conference had an emphasis on the US-Mexico border with applications to both border regions. More than 180 people, representing multilateral, federal, state and local governments, as well as representatives of the public finance and project development sectors, participated in the conference.

For more information on the conference presentations, go to http://uac.sct.gob.mx/fileadmin/espanol/seminariocct/resultados/idxresultados.htm

May
A JWC meeting was held May 24-25, 2005 in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
See minutes for the meeting.

November
A JWC meeting was held November 16-17 in Queretaro, Mexico.
Minutes for the meeting can be found here.

March
A JWC meeting was held March 1-3 in San Antonio, Texas.
Minutes for the meeting can be found here.
Commitments and Agreements from the meeting are available here.

July
A JWC meeting was held July 9-11, 2003 in Mexico City.
Minutes for the meeting can be found here.

December
A JWC meeting was held on December 13, 2003 in Baltimore, Maryland to finalize the 2003-2005 Work Plan that incorporated themes from the group's new vision statement and from the 22-point border accord that was executed in March 2002.
Minutes for the meeting can be found here.

May
A JWC meeting was held on May 15 in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico to discuss the 2003-2005 Work Plan and items incorporating themes from the group's new vision statement and the 22-point border accord that was executed in March 2002.
Minutes for the meeting can be found here.

March
A 22-point plan Border Partnership accord was signed by Santiago Creel, Secretary of Governance, and Colin Powell, Secretary of State. This accord was accompanied by a 22-point plan that outlined specific actions that would be taken to create a smart border for the Twenty First Century, one that embraces technology and enhanced bilateral cooperation to ensure the secure flow of people and goods and the development of a secure and sufficient infrastructure necessary to facilitate the growing trade between Mexico and the United States, to promote legitimate travel across the border, and to protect against crime and terrorism.

June
A JWC meeting was held on June 14-15, 2001 in Chihuahua, Chihuahua Mexico.

December
The JWC held a forum in Phoenix, Arizona. At this forum, a 20-year vision was developed in order to strategically guide the group's future. Click here to view a summary of the outcomes of the workshop.
Minutes for the meeting can be found here.

A meeting focusing on the progress of the items in the current work plan was also held.

October

• U.S. DOT Secretary, Rodney Slater, and Mexican SCT Secretary, Carlos Ruiz, signed a second binational MOU on the JWC on October 12, 2000 at the International Transportation Symposium. This MOU reinforced the working relationship developed over the years and provided direction for the group in the future.
• A JWC meeting was held in Santa Fe, New Mexico to discuss the development of the 2001-2003 Work Plan. The 2001-2003 Work Plan includes the Border Infrastructure Needs Assessment Study, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Platform development, and the Coordination System for Operation of Border Ports of Entry study. It also includes Innovative Financing study, Coordination System for Operation of Border Ports of Entry pilot project, Transportation Bottlenecks along the border, and Geographic Information Systems training program.
  Minutes for the meeting can be found here.

July
A JWC meeting was held July 20 in San Antonio, Texas.
Minutes for the meeting can be found here.

March
A JWC meeting was held March 27-28 in Mexicali, Baja California Mexico.

December
A JWC meeting was held December 1-2 in Ensenada, Baja California Mexico.

March
A JWC meeting was held March 5 in San Diego, California.

July
July 29, FHWA and SCT held a Symposium on Border Transportation Infrastructure Between the United States and Mexico.
Minutes for the meeting can be found here (in Spanish).

April
April 16-17, the final binational transportation planning study reports were approved at the JWC meeting held in Washington, D.C. The study identified many opportunities for improving planning and operations at the border ports of entry. A key product of the binational study was a databank containing information on trade and traffic flows, socioeconomic data, traffic flows at the ports of entry, and existing and planned border infrastructure improvements.

April
On April 29, 1994 Secretary Pena signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that established the JWC. The JWC initiated a binational transportation planning study intended to establish the framework for binational planning and coordination. This $2.5 million study was jointly funded by the U.S. Border States and the SCT.

To provide feedback, suggestions, or comments for this page contact Sylvia Grijalva at sylvia.grijalva@dot.gov