Inaugural meeting for I-27 advisory committee held in Laredo – Laredo Morning Times
Earlier this week, the first inaugural I-27 advisory committee meeting for the planned interstate highway occurred in the city as dignitaries from the various municipalities and counties gathered to discuss the prospects of the new project and what it would mean for their respected areas and trade in general.
Earlier this week, the first inaugural I-27 advisory committee meeting for the planned interstate highway occurred in the city as dignitaries from the various municipalities and counties gathered to discuss the prospects of the new project and what it would mean for their respected areas and trade in general.
Earlier this week, the first inaugural I-27 advisory committee meeting for the planned interstate highway occurred in the city as dignitaries from the various municipalities and counties gathered to discuss the prospects of the new project and what it would mean for their respected areas and trade in general.
Earlier this week, the inaugural I-27 advisory committee meeting for the planned interstate highway occurred in the City of Laredo, as dignitaries from various municipalities and counties gathered to discuss the prospects of the new project and what it would mean for their respective areas and trade in general.
I-27 is expected to be an interstate highway connecting West Texas agriculture and energy markets to the port city of Laredo, Mexico and Central America. When constructed, the interstate highway would be the fourth of its type stemming from the city.
The meeting centered on a beginning phase for the project where the different city and county entities met for the first time concerning the highway. They discussed what the thoroughfare meant for their individual areas, how the goals could be achieved faster, and what challenges could be faced.
During the meeting, some of the major local officials present were Webb County County Judge Tano Tijerina, City of Laredo Mayor Pete Saenz, City of Lubbock Mayor Dan Pope and more.
“This was the very first meeting of the I-27 Advisory Committee as structured by TxDOT, so now there has been legislative approval to move forward with the I-27 effort,” Teclo Garcia, City of Laredo Director of Economic Development, said. “We were very, very proud to have it in Laredo instead of somewhere else along the I-27 route. This speaks volumes for Laredo, as we put the attention on the fact that this highway begins in Laredo — it doesn’t end in Laredo but rather it is where it starts.”
Garcia says the organization Ports-to-Planes has been at the forefront of helping the cities of Laredo, Lubbock, Amarillo and others and their respective counties to be able to make these meetings and the possible construction of the new highway a reality. He says the organization put the legislation together, did the studies of where the highway would go and lobbied to get it done.
He says now that the I-27 project has been officially approved, the organization is working with TxDOT to make the highway go forward.
He says during this first meeting, not a lot of work was done. It only focused on presenting the key stakeholders involved with the highway and what each player wanted for their city. Nevertheless, Garcia said the event helped set out the mission to what the leaders wanted to get done for their respective areas.
“We talked about each city’s different needs,” Garcia said. “Laredo is a port city, San Angelo is in the middle of the state, Midland is an oil city — so we talked about it in general terms, which is for the content why these committees exist, and laid out the priorities that we will have going forward. It was good to have the elected leaders there … to give it that sort of direction, and so we will be working on that going forward.”
Garcia says the new highway is not just about moving goods but also about economic development, which an official formerly from TxDOT has told him is a big priority.
“This new interstate is obviously for mobility and transportation, but our very purpose is economic development,” Garcia said. “We can move goods in and out of Texas to Mexico and from Mexico to Texas, and that would include the energy sectors in the Midland and Odessa area, the agriculture sectors in the Panhandle, the international trade areas in Eagle Pass and Laredo. Moving goods from Mexico to Laredo and the west, this road will be a very good conduit to Laredo, Eagle Pass and the border to Midland-Odessa, to the Panhandle and then to Denver.”
Garcia said Denver is a major area that has still not been fully explored by the city, and this allows for it to finally connect to that market. He also said the new interstate will help develop faster routes to the El Paso area, which will only help increase the trade between Mexico, Texas and the U.S.
Moving goods in a timely, efficient manner is important, but Garcia said the highway will also help increase local investments and create more jobs.
Even though construction for the new highway has not started yet, investing in the area has already paid dividends. The produce event Viva Fresh Produce Expo was hosted Friday to showcase several wholesale vendors from Texas, Mexico and other places, as they look to invest and also find ways to transport their goods from Mexico and elsewhere through Laredo.
Garcia says more of these expos and events could be possible with the construction of the new highway, as investors will see how this provides a new gateway into the city and elsewhere.
“This event is aligned with the new highway and places into the strategy of Laredo’s focus on cold storage,” Garcia said. “We are trying to draw more traffic into Laredo.”
Jorge A. Vela is a native Laredoan who studied at Laredo College and Texas State earning a bachelor’s degree in mass communication. After a stint of working for several publications, other local media outlets and managing his own tutoring business for years, Vela decided to get back into journalism by working as a general assignments reporter for the Laredo Morning Times. He loves spending time with la familia, soccer, cooking and jamming out
