It is well to be noted that the General Services Administration in the US happens to have plans to upgrade 38 federal land ports of entry along the country’s northern as well as southern borders by way of utilizing $1 billion in the Inflation Reduction Act as well as Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funds, the agency said on March 14, 2024.
The idea is to modernize facilities while at the same time boosting domestic clean manufacturing as well as sustainable technologies. There happens to be roughly $850 million for low-carbon materials as well as $60 million when it comes to emerging and sustainable technologies.
The money will go on to be used to convert buildings into electric energy, update water systems as well as windows, pave along with low-carbon concrete, and also otherwise update facilities with greener materials.
Greg Abbott, who happens to be the Texas Governor, is going ahead and building border wall projects in his state, as well as pushing the Biden administration to in fact do more of the same, as Texas and the feds have gone on to grapple with the issue in recent weeks. It is well to be noted that on March 8, Drew Tipton, U.S. District Judge of the Southern District of Texas, went on to issue a temporary injunction that went on to temporarily bar the federal government from redirecting $1.4 billion that the Congress allocated under Donald Trump, the former President’s regime in terms of a U.S.-Mexico border barrier.
Notably, in his election campaign, President Biden has vowed to stop complete wall construction between the U.S. and Mexico due to concerns about its cost, dearth of effectiveness, degradation of the environment, and danger it poses to migrants. In 2023, Biden said that his administration is needed by law to continue specific wall construction, as Congress appropriated money for it.
Although, it doesn’t fund walls specifically, IIIJA goes on to designate $3.4 billion to build as well as modernize land ports and also U.S. Customs and Border Protection infrastructure on the nation’s borders with Mexico and Canada. The GSA went on to say that it chose these land port projects based upon each facility’s age as well as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection’s safety requirements.
It is worth noting that of the 38 projects, 23 entail electrifying building functions. Some of these biggest projects are:
28-acre Bridge of the Americas Land Port of Entry separating El Paso, Texas, as well as Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, which happens to process inbound and outbound commercial as well as non-commercial vehicles and even pedestrians. Apparently, the $650 million to $700 million project would enable CBP to handle a growing volume of users. Construction is all set to start in May 2026 and is most likely to be substantially complete by June 2029.
Apart from this, the Raul Hector Castro Land Port of Entry project, Douglas, Arizona, would go on to overhaul a 4.8-acre CBP facility. Notably, this $165 million to $185 million project would go ahead and modernize as well as expand the existing facility for pedestrians and non-commercial traffic, while the commercial activities would go on to move to a new stand-alone facility named Douglas Commercial. Construction of this project will begin in the fall of 2028, with completion aimed at in 2031.
Interestingly, the Douglas Commercial Land Port of Entry, Douglas, Arizona, is also being sought, which is the corresponding new 80-acre, $170 million to $220 million facility for commercial vehicles. This construction is expected to begin in 2025 and be over in 2028.
Apart from this, the 17.8-acre Calexico West Land Port of Entry in California, which happens to be the main border crossing that links the Imperial Valley agricultural industry to Baja California, Mexico, is also to be built. Around $400 million in projects go on to have a new administration building as well as more inspection facilities, booths, and vehicle lanes.
In addition to the above modernization projects, GSA is also investing another $100 million in low-carbon materials across 13 land port paving projects.
Greener procurement
The Biden administration happens to be shifting some of the federal government’s phenomenal purchasing power to low-carbon as well as U.S.-made materials by way of the IIJA’s Build America, Buy America Act, which builds on existing Buy America mandates, and the Buy Clean Initiative, by way of an executive order.
BABA, apparently, requires all manufactured products, construction materials, as well as iron and steel used in federally funded infra projects to be made across America, while Buy Clean happens to direct the federal government to green its buying practices and also take other actions so as to achieve a net-zero emissions economy by 2050.
These land port projects are undoubtedly going to boost domestic manufacturing and also improve security, said GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan, in the release.
By way of incorporating clean construction materials as well as clean energy technologies into such projects, they are not only supporting bringing the border stations into the 21st century; they are also helping the clean energy industries that will go on to lead the US economy in the future, added Carnahan.
