Bazan discusses his latest trip to Mexico City

Rio Grande Guardian's Podcast

PHARR, Texas - Pharr International Bridge Director Luis Bazan is in Mexico City today for a meeting of the US-Mexico Binational Bridges and Border Crossings Group.

At the meeting, Bazan will give an update on the second span project.

Delegates from the United States and Mexican governments, the states of New Mexico and Texas, and the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Laredo, and Tamaulipas are participating in a regional meeting of the U.S.-Mexico Binational Bridges and Border Crossings Group. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss operational matters involving existing and proposed international bridges and border crossings and their related infrastructure and to exchange technical information as well as views on policy.

The meeting will include a public session. This session will allow proponents of proposed bridges and border crossings and related projects to make presentations to the delegations and members of the public.

“It’s called the BBBXG and that stands for binational bridges and borders crossings group,” Bazan said. “And that is the binational delegation, the federal delegation that we've gotten in front of since day one. Any bridge, any entity that's out there trying to get their port, their projects, off the ground, that’s the delegation that you go in front of in order to either proceed or be told that you have to several steps that to take.”

The meetings alternate between Mexico City and Washington, D.C. Bazan said he attended the last BBBXG meeting March of 2024. He said the meeting in Mexico City should be a formality for Pharr.

“We're moving forward. We're in that spot right now where we're just going there to update them, to let them know this is where the (second span) project stands. This is where it's going. This is where we are. These are our consultants. These are our engineers, project managers, and that way they can see that we've been doing all the legwork as we've been doing, as they've told us along the way, and have guided us.”

Bazan says construction of the second span is expected to take up to 18 months and should be completed by the end of 2025.

Bazan added: “We've been very fortunate. We've been very lucky that we've done things the right way, by the rules, as they say. But we've had strategic partners along the way, and that's what's helped us get to where we are now.”

In an interview with the Rio Grande Guardian, Bazan also spoke the City of Pharr’s Avocado Festival, which is part of Fresh on the Border Week. He also praised the Texas Department of Transportation for hosting the Border Trade Advisory Committee meetings. Bazan attended the agency’s latest meeting in Houston last week.

Here is the interview.

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