U.S.-Mexico Joint Working Committee (JWC) Meeting Minutes

Laredo, Texas
June 10-11, 2008

For this meeting the delegations were as follows:

U.S. Delegation
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) - Roger Petzold, Sylvia Grijalva, Lisa Dye, Fred Werner, Nelda Bravo
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) - Leo Lopez
Department of State (DOS) - (WHA-MEX) - Dan Darrach, Rob Allison
General Services Administration (GSA) -Jim King, Ramon Riesgo
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) - US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) -Dennis Counihan, Frank Longoria, Adrian Guerra, Joe Ramos
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) - US VISIT - Eli Hammerman, Mike Grosso
Department of Commerce (DOC) - David Olsen
Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) - Amadeo Saenz, Esther Hitzfelder, Leo Matias, Mario Medina, Mario Jorge, Melissa Montemayor
New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) - Joseph de la Rosa
New Mexico Border Authority (NMBA) - Jaime Campos, Jim Creek
California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) - Pedro Orso-Delgado
Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) - Rakesh Tripathi, Rudy Pérez, Marisa Walker

Mexican Delegation
Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT- Desarrollo Carretero (DGDC)) -Jose San Martin, Juan José Erazo, Francisco Calvario, Manuel Cuan, Oscar Fernandez
Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT- Auto Transporte (DGAF)) - Jesus Mercado
Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT- Planeación) - Abel Contreras
Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes (Centro SCT - Chihuahua) - Gabriel Ramirez
Instituto Mexicano de Transporte (IMT) - Jorge Acha, Alberto Mendoza
Instituto de Administración y Avalúos de Bienes Nacionales (indAAbin) - Jose Fidel Castañeda
Instituto Nacional Migratorio - Alfredo Gonzalea, Victor Arriaga
Servicio de Administración Tributaria (SAT) - Aduana - Carlos Morales
Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores (SRE) - Sean Cazares
Gobierno del Estado de Baja California - (SIDUE) -Carlos Lopez
Gobierno del Estado de Sonora (SIUE) - Fernando Lam, Adalberto Rosas
Gobierno del Estado de Tamaulipas - Vicente Saint Martín, (SEDEEM) - Ernesto Morris, Rosa Vazquez, Andres Velasquez, Aquiles Garza
Gobierno del Estado de Coahuila (SUOP) - Noe García
Gobierno del Estado de Chihuahua - Joaquin Barrios
Gobierno del Estado de Nuevo Leon- César Zúñiga
Corporación para el Desarrollo de la Zona Fronteriza (CODEFRONT) de Nuevo León - Juan Carlos Gastellum, Pedro Pablo Treviño CETRATET Sonora - Fidel Garcia, Rafael Bojorquez,
CETRATET Nuevo Leon - David Saldaña, Vinicio Serment
CETRATET Chihuahua - Oscar Garcia

Consultants and Others
Gannett Fleming, Consultant to SCT - Matt Schiemer
New Mexico State University (NMSU) - Christopher Brown, Quinn Korbulic
Universidad Autonoma de Ciudad Juarez, Consultant to NMSU - Alfredo Granados
RJ Rivera Associates, Consultant to TxDOT - Rudy Rivera, Joe Guerra
Texas Transportation Institute, Consultant to TxDOT - Juan Carlos Villa, Jolanda Prozzi
Port of Guaymas -Guillermo Von Borstel
City of McAllen - Teclo Garcia
City of Laredo - Jesus Olivares, Ellie Reyes, Gerardo Leal
Webb County - Danny Valdez, LeRoy Medford

June 10, 2008 - Joint Working Committee Meeting-Joint Session ¹

Welcome, Meeting Purpose and Introductions - Roger Petzold, FHWA and José San Martín, SCT
Roger initiated the meeting, expressing that he would be acting as co-chair in place of Gloria Shepherd who sent her regrets, and welcomed the delegates. José San Martín did the same.

Danny Valdez, County Judge for Laredo gave welcoming comments and thanked Amadeo Saenz, TxDOT for his diligent work in the border region. Two Presidential permits applications will be submitted by Laredo to the DOS, one for Laredo V and the other for the Colombia/Nuevo Leon rail bridge. The cities of Laredo and Nuevo Laredo recently celebrated the unity between the two sister cities with a ceremony.

Amadeo Saenz, title, TxDOT gave welcoming remarks and as a product of the border region and from the border area he reiterated how important it is to work together. He gave a brief overview of border studies underway in Texas, including the low cost-high impact studies and bottleneck improvements, and a study to measure border wait times/delays. Texas is also looking with interest at the projects being presented by the other border states. He summed up by giving some border statistics about Texas: 26 automobile border crossings, 3.3 million trucks, 5 rail bridges. The border is important to Texas as 9% of the statewide traffic is North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) related and Texas is Mexico's number one trading partner. For this reason, Texas is working on several border crossing projects and is coordinating with Mexico and other stakeholders to ensure that Texas' border needs are met.

Approval of minutes from Tampico, December 2007 meeting - All
The JWC approved the minutes without comment.

Update on Border Facilitation Working Group -Dan Darrach, DOS and Sean Cazares, SRE
Mexico-U.S. relations have warmed since President Calderon has taken office. There has been an interest in improving transportation planning and border facilities and a desire to improve legitimate travel and trade. There have been several high-level meetings between Presidents Bush and Calderon and Prime Minister Martin of Canada to discuss tri-lateral issues: (Merida, spring 2007, Montebello-August 2007, New Orleans- April 2008 and Ottawa- June 2008) between the two governments. These meetings generate initiatives/activities that including the Border Facilitation Working Group (BFWG). The BFWG was established to facilitate flow of information between the two nations in pursuit of the action items/initiatives. The meetings are chaired by the White House Council on Homeland Security, and those federal agencies involved in the action items/initiatives, including DOT, Customs, Commerce, and others, meet frequently to discuss progress on activities. The group has had a few binational meetings, and a few border tours, including a tour of Nogales, Laredo and San Diego, Detroit and El Paso. The group was especially interested in the Detroit 25% challenge initiative that came out of the original Security and Prosperity Partnership agreement established between the U.S./Canada/Mexico, which pledged to reduce commercial vehicle wait times at the Detroit Windsor Bridge by 25%. The group covers many issues, some in conjunction with the JWC, including border wait time studies, barriers to the Free and Secure Trade (FAST) program, construction of a FAST lane at the Colombia Bridge, a commercial vehicle hours-of-operation pilot at Santa Teresa/Jeronimo and interest in individual bridge crossings.

Sean added that the BFWG gives extra support and push to important projects with a high level of participation. This has resulted in increased Secure Electronic Network for Travelers Rapid Inspection (SENTRI) and FAST lanes, improved dialogue between the two nations, and an improved (speedier) planning and construction process for projects.

Border Security Projects Overview - Juan Jose Erazo, SCT and Sean Cazares, SRE
DOS, through its International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) bureau funded, designed and completed six SENTRI lanes (Tijuana, Mexicali, Nogales, Nuevo Laredo, Matamoros, and Reynosa) across Mexico. The program of SENTRI lanes was well received in Mexico and renewed interest has been expressed for additional locations to be identified for SENTRI implementation. The Government of Mexico proposed a list of eight additional crossings and submitted it to DOS for review with the other federal agencies. A meeting was held in Washington D.C. in April 2008 to discuss the Government of Mexico's proposal. At the meeting, CBP indicated that with the implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), that all vehicle lanes will be supplied with equipment that will be capable of reading Radio Frequency (RFID) cards, including SETNRI cards. This was welcome news because use of SENTRI allows for more efficient crossings while maintaining border security.

Discussion: Even though lanes are going to be SENTRI-capable, there is still the issue of designating which lanes will be using SENTRI and of how to effectively channelize or direct SENTRI users to those lanes. For the mid-term, CBP has no plans to move to a phase of more SENTRI-only lanes, however, as the program expands, CBP will need to effectively manage the lanes. Some SENTRI advocates expressed concern that without proper channelization or infrastructure in Mexico for SENTRI/FAST, individuals would not enroll in SENTRI because there is no perceived advantage for them.

Further, where there are toll crossings, the cost per individual user is very high ($350 annually per bridge, just for tolls), and subscriptions to SENTRI are perhaps lower than they would otherwise be. It would be useful to have a way that occasional users could also participate in the SENTRI program in these locations without having to pay toll for a full year (not pay all fees up front), for them to have a pay as you go system with electronic toll tags, something similar to what Mexico's Caminos y Puentes Federales (CAPUFE) has on its highways using the llave system. Juan Jose indicated that SCT is working with CAPUFE to come up with some solutions to this problem. In other locations, like Tijuana, SENTRI is over-subscribed and new infrastructure is already needed. In the Rio Grande Valley, the number of people enrolled in the program is equal to the number of people waiting to enroll.

Juan Jose indicated that SCT does have funding for infrastructure in Mexico for the next areas (of most important to them are Calexico East/Mexicali II and Eagle Pass/Piedras Negras) and they concur that technology alone will not solve the problem, but that coordination and traffic management will have to occur. Dennis Counihan thanked the Government of Mexico for their detailed analysis of where additional SENTRI lanes would be warranted. He indicated that individual CBP Port Directors at Ports of Entry (POEs) will have the ability to decide which travel lanes can be designated as SENTRI lanes. This will not happen until full WHTI implementation with its readers and equipment installment. CBP also looks forward to the resolution of high SENTRI costs at the bridges in Texas.

Pedro Orso-Delgado pointed out that the SENTRI configuration at San Ysidro, with a moveable gate, is one solution for easily being able to switch lanes from regular lanes to SENTRI lanes. The problem with switching lanes is that the roadway infrastructure in the built-up areas of Mexico is not easily modified. How can the group help Mexican cities provide more infrastructure? One way to mitigate this problem is by designing new POEs to include better/improved access and the ability to switch lanes more seamlessly, including infrastructure leading to the POEs from Mexico.

Transportation Border Congestion Relief (TBCR) Program - Roger Petzold, FHWA
On May 30, 2008, the Department of Transportation published the TBCR in the federal register. This program requested applications from interested international land border States, bridge and tunnel operators, and private entities interested in implementing innovative solutions to help address land border travel time delay and facilitate trade and travel without compromising the vital mission of securing America's borders. Applications from interested parties are due June 30, 2008, with an expected award date of September 2008. The program does not come with any funding at the present time, but it does provide the help of a team of DOT experts in areas of financing, planning, the environment, and other pertinent areas, and gives the selected projects high-level support from the Office of the Secretary. Projects in need of environmental streamlining, or innovative finance solutions would be ideal. The www.fightgridlocknow.com webpage has further information on the TBCR program.

Coordinated Border Infrastructure Program - Texas - Mario Jorge and Mario Medina, TxDOT
The Coordinated Border Infrastructure (CBI) Program, established under the Safe Accountable Flexible Efficient Transportation Equity Act (SAFETEA-LU) of 2005, provides funding to Border States for projects intended to facilitate/expedite cross border motor vehicle and cargo movements. The funds were distributed based on a formula considering number of Ports of Entry (border crossings) per state, volume of commercial vehicles and passenger vehicles (including buses) crossing, and weight of cargo crossing. CBI will provide over $800 million over the life of SAFETEA-LU. Texas used the same formula to assign its funding to its three border districts (El Paso, Pharr and Laredo), and reduced the region where funds could be spent to within 50 miles of the international border. Mario and Mario presented the amounts of money received by each district and listed the projects that are being/will be completed using the CBI funds.

Juan Jose commented that although SCT does not have a similar funding source for border projects, that the President Calderon initiative is providing funds for border projects. He would like to work with Texas, and the other states, on binational planning for these funds, especially in the Reynosa/Pharr region where they have great needs for infrastructure. Juan Jose indicated that he would like to see an established mechanism for binational planning.

2005-2007 Work Plan
Regional Border Master Plan Calif./Baja Calif. - Pedro Orso-Delgado - Caltrans
Pedro gave an overview of the process to create a regional border-wide master plan (BMP) with a comprehensive and prioritized assessment of the bi-state POE and transportation needs. State/local/federal governments have long had overlapping interests at the POEs, as evidenced by the many, varied proposals for port of entry projects. The process has involved a technical level working group and a policy level working group providing guidance and information on planning boundaries, project information, evaluation criteria, and other pieces of information critical to the process. The master plan final report will be presented to the technical working group in July 2008 and the policy advisory committee in September 2008. The final report will be presented to the JWC at the next meeting. The Master Plan product will be collaborative, and will provide a rational way for planning and funding cycles to work together for the benefit of the region.

Current discussion has been, now that master plan is nearly complete in its first iteration, how should it be updated, and how frequently? Some suggestions have been that updates occur on the same cycles as the regional transportation plans, but six months before, so that the BMP process can feed into the regional planning process. The BMP idea is being promoted by the Border Governors' Conference with the idea that each local region/DOT district develops a bottoms-up approach to the planning process. Then once a process has been identified locally, each state can combine the master plans to general a statewide list of needs. The California-Baja California is a successful example of how the process can reach consensus from a variety of agencies, but it is not the only example.

Joseph de la Rosa asked if the data used for the BMP already existed, or if resources were expended to gather new information. Pedro responded that this iteration of BMP used existing data, but that part of the outcome was the identification of data that may be required for further iterations. Lisa Dye emphasized that throughout the discussions of the BMP, and when agencies had differences on data needs or disagreements on data accuracy, that the process being a first step in an iterative process, refining as time goes by, helped keep the project moving. Carlos Lopez said that having the right people participate was useful and that the project had spanned across two Baja California governors' terms, but was supported by both, a great advancement in objective planning. Each region will prepare an approach for regional master planning, defining the mechanism to be used (including nominating chairs/co-chairs), the proposed funding sources to fund the effort and present their approaches at the next JWC meeting. The regions are as follows: Arizona/Sonora, El Paso/New Mexico/Juarez, Laredo/Nuevo Laredo, Lower Rio Grande Valley/Reynosa and Matamoros. Each approach shall be developed and have buy-in from its corresponding partner states.

Border Infrastructure Needs Assessment (BINS II)/Geographic Information Systems (GIS) - Joseph de la Rosa, NMDOT, Chris Brown and Quinn Korbulic, NMSU

Joseph introduced Quinn who gave an overview of the work completed to date for BINS- a developed systematic approach for assessing transportation needs in the border region (100 km north and south of the international boundary) including defining criteria, evaluation process, border-wide data base and evaluation tools, significant projects and methods for funding the projects.

Currently NMSU is finalizing data the data collection phase (updating and adding new base data) and developing the on-line map. In the fall, the group will analyze the BINS data and complete the final report. Some data are still missing from the basic datasets: major road network information, volume and capacity information, POE data and geospatial data on roadways and at POEs.

The team encourages the states to submit data, and if no data are available to indicate that to the project team as well. Knowledge about where data need to be improved may help guide further data collection efforts, so it is as important to know where data do not exist. The consultants are prepared to do site visits with the Mexican states to expedite data collection. The group made a commitment to have complete participation in the project from all states.

The project will have a very large dataset, over 1 million street segments. Compiling the data has required adapting different codes (ARC IMS, HTML, ASP.NET) to one system and making that data web accessible. Due to the size of the datasets, this has proved technically challenging. At the next JWC meeting, NMSU will include in their presentation potential uses for the data being collected for the project.

Some future uses of BINS II/GIS could be to support the Border Governors' Border Crossing and Logistics Work Table by adding logistics data to the dataset, and/or use BINS II/GIS for support for BECC projects. Although these are potential valid and useful proposals to expand the BINS/BGIS program, it should not be expanded until the current project is completed. Once existing data collection and the current project is complete, the JWC can investigate and pursue other options presented by NMSU/NMDOT for enhancement of BINSII/GIS.

Border Innovative Finance Activities -
Overview -Frederick Werner, FHWA, provided a report on recent finance team activities. In January 2008, the team participated in a TxDOT sponsored meeting to develop a strategy for improving freight transportation options between three Texas ports, Laredo, Corpus Christi and San Antonio. Rail, highway and truck-only facilities were discussed. More on this will be presented in the next day's session by Mr. David Casteel, TxDOT. In late 2007, the team sponsored a training event on innovative finance for the TxDOT El Paso District and other invitees. The training was well received and there are requests for further training in this region, the El Paso/New Mexico region focusing on bonding once funding becomes available. Several other regions, including the Arizona DOT and the Laredo region, would be interested in either participating or hosting the training workshops.

As the MOU for the JWC considers specifically a line item dealing with the environment, the recommendation generated by discussion is to solicit more participation from outside agencies, including EPA, into the finance activities. To help promote this U.S. and Mexican federal environmental agencies (EPA and SEMARNAT) will be invited regularly to participate in the JWC meetings and activities. This will help when projects link together across agency specialties, such as the BECC/NADBANK application projects. Specifically, help should be provided on how applications for BECC/NADBANK should be filled out. The JWC finance subcommittee will document the criteria and develop guidelines for BECC/NADBANK applications so that project sponsors are better able to generate more complete and technically competent applications including providing probable sources of environmental information and contacts. As mentioned in the previous presentation, NMSU submitted a proposal to the Department of Energy for a GIS data clearinghouse to support concessionaires/sponsors of projects by BECC. They could perhaps be of assistance in development of the guidelines.

Other upcoming possibilities for finance team involvement include the FHWA's Transportation Border Congestion Relief Program discussed earlier by Roger Petzold, two international rail crossing projects in Laredo (Webb County/CODEFRONT at Colombia and Kansas City Southern at Laredo V), next steps related to financial needs at SR11/Otay Mesa East/Mesa de Otay II in California and the Border to Border Conference in McAllen in November 2008.

Mesa de Otay II/Tijuana - Francisco Calvario, SCT gave a presentation on the finance activities that have been completed to date for the Mesa de Otay II project in Tijuana. These include Master Plan Conceptual Studies on the Cost-Benefits and Financial Feasibility of the Project, as well as traffic and market studies, financial and economic feasibility, conceptual layout to of the port of entry, urban master plan and roadway connections, etc.).

The plan for the new POE is a toll crossing with a maximum wait time of 20 minutes once the user reaches the cross-border queue. The proposed toll is $19.17 pesos (about $1.75) for automobiles and $86.27 pesos (about $8) for trucks. Four different alternatives were studied looking at technical and financial criteria. The recommended alternative would be a mixed auto/commercial vehicle POE, with the expectation that commercial traffic would vacate the existing Otay Mesa POE by 2015. The cost of a new POE exclusive of right-of-way acquisition costs is $391.48 million pesos (about $36 million). Assuming a concession time period of 30 years, and including private investment and public credit, the preferred alternative, mixed auto/commercial vehicle will be financially feasible. It will take at least one year after the development of the next study, the Proyecto Ejecutivo to initiate the bidding process.

SR11/Otay Mesa East - Pedro Orso-Delgado, Caltrans gave a background on the purpose of the Otay Mesa East POE Project, which is to increase interconnections between the rapidly growing regions of San Diego/Tijuana, reduce wait times, and provide alternatives for regional ports of entry. The project is being considered to be financed by tolls and will be constructed as a turn-key operation for CBP and GSA, and will provide a premium service (maximum wait time goal of 30 minutes for vehicles and 6 minutes for SENTRI). A financial feasibility study was completed showing that the project as proposed is a good potential investment provided external capital is used for operating and maintenance costs of the POE. Estimated tolls would be variable based on demand and could range from $1-7 for passenger vehicles and $23-47 dollars for commercial vehicles.

Since the last JWC meeting, both the Mexican Financial Feasibility Study and the GSA Feasibility Study have been completed. Next steps for the project will be a final Phase 1 environmental document, presidential permit approval, completion of legislation that would allow for tolls/fees (State Senate Bill 1486 - moving through the State of California processes and expected complete by January 2009), initiation of Phase 2 environmental studies, a signed memorandum of understanding between Caltrans/GSA/CBP and dedication of right-of-way for the project. The memorandum of understanding will develop rules or an agreement for service at the new POE. This could be a pay by demand, congestion pricing, minimum staffing.

Bonds are expected to be issued in FY2009/2010, funds available by 2010/2011 and an estimated project opening day is 2014. Caltrans asked for group support for the Administrative Program Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) (support and prompt submission of comments), the Final PEIR/PEIS (support and prompt submission of comments) and support from GSA either to accept the FHWA document as their own or to issue their own Record of Decision (ROD) on the project.

Luncheon Speakers - Hon. Raul Salinas - Mayor of Laredo and Hon. Ramon Garza, Mayor of Nuevo Laredo

Bottlenecks Study - Phase II
Nogales Bottleneck Study- Rakesh Tripathi and Rudy Pérez, ADOT have two ongoing studies in the Nogales/Mariposa area. The first will be to identify bottlenecks on the ingress/egress routes to the Mariposa POE, and identify low cost-high impact solutions. These studies will evaluate traffic using traffic simulation models and a traffic control system. Currently the study is in the develop recommendations stage, with a complete report expected by August 2008. The second is a study to develop forecasts by mode for 2013, 2018 and 2028 for border crossings in the Nogales area.

Fernando Lam, Sonora
Sonora has met with the Tec de Monterrey (Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey) and is working to identify and develop solutions for problems to facilitate traffic issues on the commercial vehicle fiscal roadway leading to the Mariposa POE. One proposal is to segregate traffic types.

Texas Travel Time Study (Bottleneck Study) - Esther Hitzfelder, TxDOT introduced Rudy Rivera, RJ Rivera Associates who has undertaken a comprehensive border travel time study for TxDOT which has identified high-impact, low cost projects for each of Texas' 26 POEs. The improvements will address congestion, vehicle emissions, higher fuel consumption, lost time, greater transportation costs, etc. The study has a two-fold purpose: travel time analyses for passengers and freight and identification and improvement of bottlenecks (up to 5 miles from the border (outside the CBP federal facilities)) with a 2-5 year implementation period. The project approach included data collection and review, and two rounds of stakeholder outreach workshops held in each TxDOT district. There has been a high level of participation with all TxDOT districts, 5 Metropolitan Planning Agencies, FWHA, CBP and others. A constraints map was developed for each border crossing and then possible solutions were screened using mobility, safety, economy, environment, security, design and cost effectiveness factors. The study came up with over 130 potential projects, of which 89 were recommended by the project team. Sample projects included signage improvements, pedestrian/auto separation, provision of truck parking areas, and others. Next steps include investigating funding and implementation strategies for the recommended projects.

Low Cost -High Impact Projects: Identification of Projects in Targeted Metro Areas - Juan Jose Erazo - SCT and Matt Schiemer - Gannet Fleming
Juan Jose introduced Matt who is working on an Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) contract for SCT. This study focused in on the 8 regional areas (Matamoros/Brownsville, Reynosa/Pharr, San Diego/Tijuana, Mexicali/Calexico (including San Luis I and II), Nogales/Nogales, El Paso/Juarez, Laredo/Laredo, Eagle Pass/Piedras Negras) SCT identified for implementation of JWC tools to facilitate flow throughout a region.

Implementation of ITS on the "FONADIN Noreste" Project in Northeastern Mexico - Matt Scheimer.
The study identified 3 goals improve safety, improve traffic flow and mobility, and improve traveler comfort and satisfaction, and then selected an ITS system that could achieve these goals. ITS will then be implemented on the toll roads (Autopistas de Cuota) in Nuevo Leon - Monterrey to Nuevo Leon, Monterrey to Reynosa and Monterrey to Matamoros. Currently, the consultant is developing a concept of operations and performance for the installation of the ITS system. There were many options for systems, and Matt showed some components of systems that will be deployed, including sharing information with law enforcement, and a 511-like system. They will have one Traffic Management Center (TMC) for all the systems, most likely in Monterrey. All of the equipment, systems and the TMC will be owned by the winner of the bid for the concession. Data will be exchanged both on owned and leased, cellular and land-line sections. Improvements in electronic toll collection are expected. An example installation plan, showing where and what kind of equipment would be placed, was discussed. Sensors will located be every 25km and will send back speed and travel times. Video requires a much higher bandwidth. SCT has been using FHWA's integrated corridor management to fold into the specifications for this ITS project.

SCT expressed an interest to work with TxDOT so that the information can be reported in a binational way. Esther indicated that the meetings that were committed to earlier, for comprehensive planning could also be used to discuss the ITS project. SCT requested instead ITS specific meetings. After discussion, the JWC agreed to reconvene the BIFA subcommittee to focus on this ITS project and to further coordinate and ensure the Architecture for a pilot in the Lower Rio Grande valley/ Reynosa /Matamoros region. TxDOT's Pharr office will be added to the BIFA subcommittee specifically for this effort.

Dan Darrach asked if the ITS system planned will also extend to the free highways. SCT indicated that yes, the ITS would be on the free roadways as well, noting that distribution of traffic varies between the free-toll roads. For Monterrey to Reynosa, 80% of autos use the toll roadway, but for Monterrey to Nuevo Leon most of the toll customers are freight carriers. Comparative times on the two roadways will be available to the users.

Juan Jose showed a short slide presentation showing the POE locations and status of construction, FAST/SENTRI implementation or other improvements. For maximum resource utilization it would be helpful to know CBP's plans for implementation of improvements, including WHTI implementation, so that SCT could develop complementary projects. To that end, the JWC and CBP will facilitate gathering information on the 39 ports of entry that will have WHTI capability so that improvement efforts can be focused on those Ports of entry that will need infrastructure in Mexico, FAST and other attributes to shown on a map.

CETRATET/BTEP implementing JWC Tools
Nelda Bravo, FHWA
Nelda gave a brief overview of the changes that have occurred in the Office of International Programs since the last meeting. She indicated that the CETRATET meeting the day before had been productive, and she thanked all of the CETRATET staff and assistants for their help. Currently there is no independent financing for the CETRATET program but FHWA and the centers will be working together to renew agreements and determine other ways to save or generate funds.

Manny Cuan, SCT
At the Mexican only meeting, the BTEP/CETRATET program was supported. Training is very important to SCT and the Mexican States and the CETRATET program provides a useful venue for this training. They very much want to see the program continue. Given the funding situation, SCT and the centers will work together to reevaluate the role of the centers, determine what areas of interest exist in each center and develop a plan to move forward. SCT is looking for training to be held on the SimFronteras model, GIS/ITS applications and Value Engineering.

Binational Transportation Planning Study - Jolanda Prozzi, Texas Transportation Institute
This is a new study, funded through TxDOT that is focusing on the process for infrastructure planning in Mexico. TxDOT would like to see further work in this area be part of the 2008-2010 work plan. Jolanda is the head researcher of a multi-disciplinary/international data gathering team which includes students from the University of Texas' LBJ School of XX. The goal of the study is to understand infrastructure planning. She provided an overview of tasks, then discussed progress and where the team is to day. Task 6 is an update of previous work compared with President Calderon's vision for infrastructure investment. Jolanda is looking for good case studies from the JWC in Mexico and will be happy to send the technical memo to anyone who is interested. The project advisors, 10-12 individuals from TxDOT, will provide the team input into which case study(ies) will be selected. The project has the support of SCT.

Traffic Studies Peer Exchange - Lisa Dye, FHWA
In January 2007, then Director of Field Services, San Diego, Adele Fasano, as part of the Border Master Plan (BMP) process, expressed concern over the variety of different methodologies for forecasting cross-border traffic, and asked that FHWA host a peer exchange between forecasting professionals, including but not limited to CBP, GSA, FHWA, Caltrans and SANDAG. The objective of this exchange is increased understanding of forecasting and traffic modeling practices. This exchange will be a first step in a possible harmonization of traffic projections or methodologies to be used when making decisions about new or modernizing ports of entry. The peer exchange concept was then included as a follow-up item from the BMP and subsequently added as a JWC 2008-2010 work plan item.

The FHWA will be hosting the Peer Exchange all day on June 19, 2008 at the Caltrans District 11 Office in San Diego, CA (4050 Taylor Street, San Diego, CA 92110). The exchange will also be accessible via videoconference. The event is envisioned as an exchange of ideas based on the following thematic topics: border delay times, current and future projections, border crossing demand, current and future by mode, reliable land use and network data for Mexico, freight demand and distribution.

Border Wait-Times Studies
FHWA's has an on-going program to measure and improve border performance by developing a base-line of border travel times. The most important outcome of this process is travel time reliability: consistency or dependability in travel times measured from day to day, across different times of day and for different commodities. Actual travel time is less important for most users than inconsistent or unexpected delays. FHWA has piloted a border travel time study using Global Positioning Systems (GPS) technology on trucks for 25 interstates and 5 U.S./Canada border crossings. Various Mexican pilots are underway as discussed below.

El Paso/Juarez and Pharr/Reynosa - Juan Villa -TTI
One key in measurement of the border wait times is that information collected should be consistent across all border crossings, regardless of which technology used to measure is chosen. Also the technology chosen should be able to implement sustainably, should be transferrable to other locations and support counting of cross-border passenger vehicles as well. Six different technologies were explored in Texas with two emerging as best candidates, Automatic Vehicle Identification -Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, and Automatic Vehicle Location - Global Positioning Systems. RFID was selected, mainly because the technology was sufficiently advantageous for the required purpose, a large investment had already been made by DPS for their own uses and it made sense to build upon that effort. RFID is also currently being used by CBP in the FAST program.

In El Paso, at least two locations using this technology will be measured, with readers located before the northbound queue in Mexico and at the exit of the State Commercial Vehicle Inspection Facility, at each location. The first bridge to be measured will be the Bridge of the Americas (BOTA), then the project will expand to other locations. There are two Texas pilots, one in the El Paso/Juarez area (BOTA) and another in Pharr/Reynosa. Next steps include, a stakeholder meeting will be held June 19, 2008, development of an information dissemination system, development of a border congestion index concept which will compare observed vs. optimal travel times.

San Diego/Tijuana- Lisa Dye -FWHA
In San Diego, Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPR) and GPS were determined to be the best technology candidates. GPS was selected because the carriers supported use of GPS, the use of GPS is non-invasive and does not require infrastructure to be placed in ground- or pole-mounted locations, and GPS can provide multiple measurement points, something that was important to the stakeholders involved, and something important for the Otay Mesa deployment site, which has many different lanes. The first set of data is expected to be collected in Summer of 2008.

Nogales/Nogales - Marisa Walker- ADOT
Nogales is working with ADOT and a consortium that has been hired as part of the bottleneck study. There are synergies because the group is familiar with the region. This effort is being funded by the Government of Arizona, FHWA and the CANAMEX corridor group. This effort is expected to begin in mid July 2008. Marisa thanked Sylvia and Crystal for their help establishing the Arizona study and providing background and scoping information. They will be using GPS because it will help Arizona evaluate the environmental impacts of waits. At the Arizona-Sonora Commission June 20, border delay and congestion will be topics of importance.

The results of the FHWA program could be used to quantify border performance measurements and could be distributed to public and private sector partners for a variety of uses. Expected outcomes of the program are a one-year data set of baseline travel times, documentation to guide future deployments at other sites, and a plan to support continuous measurement at the pilot sites, and other sites. Ideally both historical and continuous (real time) data would be collected.

GIS Safety Initiatives - Dr. Alberto Mendoza, Instituto Mexicano del Transporte The safety work plan item began with three broad initiatives: A GIS inventory of safety data sets, including accident locations, a pilot project using GIS, and training, specifically Road Safety Audits. SCT's Autotransporte (DGAF) group is looking into a safety and GIS pilot project. Two safety road audits were held in El Paso and Nogales. Dr. Mendoza gave a presentation on the importance of Road Safety Audits and asked that more road safety audits, specifically for CAPUFE on toll roads, be incorporated into the 2008-2010 work plan. IMT as an agency is too tiny to research these great and large visions, they would like further help organizing the topic and the road safety audits in Mexico. They would also like local and regional government CETRATET's participation.

Sylvia asked participants to be ready to discuss any 2008-2010 work plan items and to consider any other initiatives that stakeholders want for the new work plan for discussion the next day.

June 11, 2008 - Joint Working Committee Meeting-Joint Session

Border Governors' Conference - Border Crossings Worktable - Pedro Orso-Delgado, Caltrans and Fernando Lam, Sonora
The Border Governors' Conference (BGC) has met since 1980, with participation by State DOTs since 1996. The BGC is divided into different work tables. The Border Crossing Work Table (including logistics) develops recommendations on border crossings that are then included in a Joint Declaration that is signed by all 10 governors.

The planning is in its ultimate stages for the next Border Governors' meeting, which will still be held at Universal Studios in Hollywood, California, despite the recent fire there, on August 13-15, 2008. It is anticipated that this year representatives of the federal agencies, previously nominated, will be invited to the meeting. DOT Secretary Peters has been invited and is expected to attend. The overarching theme of the conference will be How to Keep the Borders Clean- expediting flow, to reduce congestion, maintenance of a better environment, etc.

Recently the Border Governors hosted a visit from the Border Facilitation Working Group (BFWG) that was discussed by Dan in his presentation of the BFWG. The Border Crossing and Logistics worktable is working on three recommendations, 1) fully funding staff for CBP, 2) implementation of double stacked booths (innovative financing?), and 3) providing signage to prevent incidents of legal weapons (guns and ammunition) being carried into Mexico. Existing Signage reminding travelers that guns are illegal in Mexico, perhaps additional press releases for the military, the most frequent offenders, could help.

Fernando thanked the JWC for asking for a adding the BGC as regular agenda item. In Sonora, there were several recommendations: 1) Optimize and expand current POE infrastructure by identifying current staffing and vacancy need of inspectional agencies of both countries and then asking for federal funding to fill those vacancies and by implementing tandem booth (double booth) inspection stations along the entire border 2) request that federal agencies work together with Border States to develop a border-wide master plan, similar to that being conducted in California-Baja California, 3) request applicable federal and state legislation to allow private/public partnerships within the U.S.-Mexico border region for transportation and land POE facilities and infrastructure construction 4) promote use of transportation information (congestion, incidents, etc.) in border states using available technologies (such as the 511 program in Arizona/Sonora - www.az511.com) 5) request that each member state develop an inventory of logistical infrastructure in their territory, and 6) define and operate coordination mechanisms with other worktables related to logistics issues.

New issues of importance for the group include investigating the need for legislation on public/private partnerships for border projects, there is a proposal to have a Sonora-New Mexico Commission, and the two parties are working on that. There was a question on how recommendations from the Border Governors' are brought to fruition. In some instances the ideas come from individual states needs or requests, others from discussion at the work tables, and in other instances, e.g. projects like the Regional Border Master Plan, are generated elsewhere and brought into the work tables to be advanced as part of the Governors' agenda. A group of the majority of the governors has traveled to meet with both federal governments to discuss the recommendations and to request action from them.

Planning Subcommittee of the Intersecretarial Group for Bridges and Border Crossings - Sean Cazares - SRE

The Intersecretarial Group for Bridges and Border Crossings (Grupo Intersectretarial de Puentes y Cruces Fronterizos) is the national level group where Mexican federal agencies meet to develop a common position with regard to POEs. The group discusses such issues as negotiation, construction, operation and maintenance of POEs and the services provided at the POEs. They also evaluate and approve proposed new POEs and work to implement those same projects once they are approved. In the last few years the group has served to consolidate agreements between state, local and federal governments on actions that benefit border communities in both nations.

The Intersecretarial Group meets on an as-needed basis as many times per year as required to address specific issues. Agreements reached at the national level are then disseminated via regional meetings to discuss specific border projects. The members of the Intersecretarial Group also meet with their U.S. counterpart agencies at the Binational Bridges and Border Crossings Group (BBBXG), co-hosted by SRE and the State Department at least once a year, with regional meetings to focus on regional projects in between. Each meeting traditionally consists of two parts, a public session and a technical session for federal and state agency participation only.

Three border crossing projects have celebrated their groundbreaking and either are under construction, or will be shortly: Donna/Rio Bravo, Anzalduas and San Luis Río Colorado/San Luis II. Other significant recent advances, since December 2007, from this group have been the following.

• The Proyecto Ejecutivo for the Guadalupe/Tornillo project will be completed by November 2008, and will include the libramiento that will connect the roadway infrastructure to the Port of Entry. SRE provided the U.S. government a tentative schedule for the project in February 2008, so that a binational calendar for the project could be established.
• The group is developing a tentative financing package that will consider the financial participation of the federal government in the widening of the bridge at Ciudad Acuña/Del Río in Coahuila-Texas.
• On February 5, 2008, the groundbreaking ceremony for the San Luis Río Colorado/San Luis II POE project took place. Initiation of construction is expected by mid 2008 for the with operation initiation projected for the end of 2009.
• In April 2008, the Grupo Intersecretarial met with the newly installed Government of Baja California to discuss the state's plans for POE infrastructure for the San Ysidro/Puerta Mexico "El Chaparral" project. They also conducted a site visit at this time, to observe the land that can be used for port expansion.
• For the Otay Mesa East/Mesa de Otay II project, both countries agreed to synchronize the planning, construction schedules, and investigate the possibility that the project would begin in 2010.
• Meetings have been held about problems on the fiscal route and at the POE of Nogales III/Mariposa West, resulting in the commitment by Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional (SEDENA) to have an indefinite presence at the port of entry as soon as agreement with aduanas can be reached. Concrete barriers have been placed on the fiscal route to delineate different lane types along the corridor.
• The first phase of construction at Progreso - Nuevo Progreso II is complete. The funds for the second phase should be available at the latest by the beginning of 2009.
• May 6, a meeting was held to discuss advancements for a new POE between Cd. Juarez and El Paso (Francisco Villarreal/Yarbrough/Cesar Chavez). Delivery of a permit by the project sponsor is anticipated after July, when the required studies will be complete.
• A Diplomatic Note was sent from the Government of Mexico on May 8, stating that government's interest in widening the Matamoros III/Brownsville/Los Tomates/Veterans Bridge.

Customs and Border Protection's Land Port of Entry Modernization Program, Border Wait Time Studies and WHTI Implementation - Dennis Counihan and Frank Longoria- CBP
Dennis gave an overview of CBP's Land Port of Entry (LPOE) modernization program. LPOEs are old (avg. age 40+years) and inadequate to serve CBPs mission. More than $5 billion dollars in capital improvements have been identified to upgrade the existing system. CBP is implementing a three pronged approach to modernization and improvement: increase resources, expedite project delivery, and improve quality and performance. The Strategic Resource Assessment (SRA) process CBP uses, identifies and prioritizes facility requirements. A new round of SRAs has begun for the LPOEs and will expand to air and sea ports later in the year. The SRAs will help CBP plan, budget, and execute facility investments objectively and fairly.

Frank Longoria discussed recent studies conducted at Laredo LPOEs, including the FHWA Border Wait Time studies pilot addressed earlier in this meeting, traffic monitoring technologies, CBP Land Border Wait Time initiatives, and infrastructure modifications to facilitate flow and reduce congestion. CBP wants to be able to develop wait times that are predictive vs. reactive, and to use baseline data to make planning and policy decisions. Frank also provided an update on WHTI implementation. RFID technology will be installed at 39 high-volume POEs (process 95% of the crossings) beginning in Summer 2008. RFID technology will provide CBP officers information in advance of arrival at the primary booth, making the crossing more secure and potentially quicker.

Leo Lopez, FMCSA, indicated that as FMCSA has needs for inspection facilities at each commercial border crossing that he would like to be considered in the both the modernization studies and in the border wait time studies. Dennis indicated that usually, FMCSA concerns are delivered through GSA, but that FMCSA is certainly welcome to participate.

Dan Darrach mentioned a system that uses APS for pre-clearance of bus passengers that is occurring between Monterrey and ten Texas cities (over 100 direct buses a day). This system is also being piloted in San Ysidro with the cruise ship buses from Ensenada.

Sean was interested in knowing if the installation of the RFID readers/equipment for the WHTI program will save time. The study Frank referred to looks at projections of times to use the RFID technology, but to date has only measured baseline data as systems are not yet in place. The hope is that the technology will not add any time.

Jesus Mercado commented that the wait time for FAST/CTPAT registered carriers should be shorter, asked how long it is currently taking, if there are any true rewards for joining up, and if there were any studies being completed to show how much time is saved by CTPAT/FAST. A pilot study in Otay Mesa, CA was to be completed. The JWC will compile available information from CBP and others (pilot study in California) to show statistically how CTPAT and FAST benefit commercial travelers.

Juan Jose indicated that WHTI will be installed at 39 POEs. If SCT had a map showing which ports of entry were getting this technology then they could expand FAST/SENTRI lane infrastructure in Mexico where demand warrants it and where it would make the most benefit.

Noe Garcia thanked CBP for their presentation and wanted to know if it were possible to have a service measurement, something comparing the operations of one POE to another, so that they could be compared in real time and over a period of time. Dennis answered that such a measure could be difficult to procure as POEs have many different components, users, and environments and the measure could cause false comparisons (not comparing apples to apples).

Carlos Lopez asked CBP if in addition to measuring/supplying average wait times on their web page if it would also be able to get peak hour data for wait times.

GSA/INDAABIN Projects Requiring Transportation Infrastructure - Ramon Riesgo - GSA, Fidel Castañeda - INDAABIN

Ramon Riesgo and Fidel Castañeda gave a port by port analysis of projects proposed for the southern border in both the U.S. and in Mexico. For the San Ysidro/Puerta Mexico project, the U.S. government is waiting for official word on the Mexican Government's position on having both northbound and southbound pedestrian lanes/access on the east side of the project. Mr. Gomez Morin met with Ms. Lurita Doan and verbally agreed to have both directions of travel on the eastern side, but there has not been official word. A diplomatic note has been drafted and will be sent on this issue. For the Douglas, AZ/ Agua Prieta, Sonora Poe, there is a potential conflict between GSA and INDAABIN's plans for expansion, with one port being proposed four miles away from the corresponding port. GSA and INDAABIN are aware of the discrepancy and will continue to monitor it. Hopefully, the local agencies will get together and come to a consensus on the different options.

Guaymas-Tucson Corridor
The Port of Guaymas is being analyzed as an alternative to Los Angeles/Long Beach. Arizona DOT has conducted a study of the Guaymas-Tucson corridor. Mr. Von Borstel gave an informational presentation about the Port. His presentation covered the competitiveness of the port compared to other sea ports, areas the port serves, physical characteristics of the port, kinds of cargo transported, and businesses currently using the port. The Guaymas-Arizona corridor could competitively carry freight currently using Los Angeles/Long Beach due to savings in freight costs

SCT would like to see the studies of corridors integrated somehow. They are currently conducting a national multi-modal (rail-freight) study which will be completed by December 2008. They would like to include a presentation on the study for the December meeting. The JWC agreed to include this agenda item [SCT's multi-modal corridor study] for the December JWC meeting.

South Texas Freight Plan - Mario Medina, TxDOT
Mario gave apologies for David Casteel who was unable to present this topic, and showed a presentation on the freight plan. There are three main corridors being considered under the plan, Laredo-Corpus Christie (Quinta), Ports to Plains, I-69/TTC 69 and 3 ports (Corpus Christie, Laredo, San Antonio). Recently in response to concerns about row width for the I-69/TTC 69 corridor, a decision was made to upgrade the existing corridor, not develop a large highway footprint. TxDOT can use Comprehensive Development Agreements to move these projects forward. Currently, there is a moratorium on public/private partnership projects over a certain $$ amount, which these projects are, so that the entire portfolio of public/private projects can be evaluated. TxDOT believes that the moratorium will be lifted and that the project will be able to move forward. Some issues to be covered include non-compete clauses, length of leases and the use heavier truck trailers (80,000 lbs).

Cross Border Commercial Truck Demonstration Project - Leo Lopez, FMCSA Leo Lopez gave an overview of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety (FMCSA) commercial truck demonstration project, including the legal background for the program, funding sources, and participation requirements. At meeting time, 35 companies (9 U.S. carriers with operating authority in Mexico, and 26 Mexican carriers with operating authority in the U.S) are participating in the pilot, with 101 registered Mexican vehicles and 50 registered U.S. vehicles. Participation in the pilot has continued to increase. Since initiation, registered carriers have made 1702 crossings into Mexico and 8031 crossings into the U.S. Additional companies are expected to sign up for the pilot and are in the process of registering.

2008-2010 Work Plan - Sylvia Grijalva, FWHA and Juan Jose Erazo, SCT
The 2008-2010 Work Plan will be consistent with the strategic plan as approved to date. The four focus areas in the Strategic Plan have been identified by the JWC: congestion, safety/security, global competitiveness, and sustainability. Work Plan projects should fit within these four focus areas.

Project sponsors will need to develop performance measures and their "vision of success" to be included with their request to be added to the 2008-2010 Work Plan. Activities already completed will need to be tied back to both the Strategic Plan and the 2008-2010 Work Plan. The following work plan topics were agreed to in December 2007 in Tampico: Value Engineering, Monitoring Framework, Traffic Studies and Traffic Forecasting Peer Exchange, Innovative Finance, Regional Master Plans, Safety Initiatives, Border Travel Time Studies, Bottleneck Studies, and Evaluating the Transportation Planning Process.

The JWC is still soliciting new ideas for projects that fit within an approved work plan topic. TxDOT is currently in a call for projects from its three border district offices, El Paso, Pharr and Laredo, and will be selecting the ones that prove the most promising. SCT would like to see an ITS pilot project, as agreed to with the expansion of BIFA, to use and coordinate with its ongoing studies, recognizing that a pilot will be necessary to test interchange of information between different levels of agencies and different countries. The JWC agreed to include the following three proposed projects in the 2008-2010 Safety work plan item: GIS applications for accident and safety data, pilot projects for the GIS, and additional safety road audits on Mexican side, especially on toll roads for CAPUFE.

Summary of Commitments and Agreements
Sylvia Grijalva read a list of previously agreed to commitments and agreements that remain outstanding. Those listed below are the action items that remain outstanding from the December 2007 meeting.

• The JWC approved integrating performance measures as discussed into the Strategic Plan and also approved the schedule of next steps (circulating the plan including performance measures to internal and external stakeholders) - the plan was NOT circulated because the strategic planning subcommittee decided that it was important to establish the performance measurement framework before the plan be circulated to external stakeholders. The framework was distributed as part of the meeting packet material for this meeting, and was on the agenda to be discussed, however, there was not sufficient time. Sylvia asks that all members review the framework as provided and provide her with any feedback. Email consensus about the framework will be gathered, and the plan will be circulated to external stakeholders. This action item is on-going.

Then, Sylvia Grijalva and Juan Jose Erazo summarized the commitments and agreements reached at the current meeting. Value Engineering and Road Safety Audits as included in the 2008-2010 work plan will also include participation by the BTEP/CETRATET program. A multimodal corridor study by SCT, including rail and truck cargo, will be completed by the next meeting and will be added to the agenda. A demonstration of the uses of BINS II will also be added to the agenda for the next meeting. The JWC agreed with the Commitments and Agreements as read (shown in this document in orange).

All PowerPoint files presented at the JWC meeting will be posted to http://www.borderplanning.fhwa.dot.gov/filemanager/ The password is jwcmeeting

Location and Date Next Meeting
The next JWC meeting will be held in Tijuana, Baja California on December 2nd and 3rd with travel day being on Monday December 1st, 2008.

Concluding Remarks
Roger and Juan José thanked the attendees and indicated that the level of participation in the JWC shows to them that there is sustained and continuing interest in the work of the group. They thanked the State of Texas for being their hosts and for the coordination and staff support that they provided for the meeting.

References