{"id":434371,"date":"2026-09-13T01:52:19","date_gmt":"2026-09-13T01:52:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/434371\/"},"modified":"2026-09-13T01:52:19","modified_gmt":"2026-09-13T01:52:19","slug":"chamber-no-commercial-traffic-at-bota-would-hurt-region","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/434371\/","title":{"rendered":"Chamber: No commercial traffic at BOTA would hurt region"},"content":{"rendered":"

EL PASO, Texas (KTSM<\/a>) \u2014 A study commissioned and funded by the El Paso Chamber says that removing commercial traffic from the Bridge of Americas when the port of entry is upgraded and modernized would have \u201csignificant long-term\u201d economic consequences for the El Paso region.<\/p>\n

The economic impact study was conducted by the Hunt Institute for Global Competitiveness at the University of Texas at El Paso.<\/p>\n

According to the study, the closure of BOTA to commerical traffic would result in a $2.3 billion reducation in economic output, a loss of more than 9,500 jobs and $600.7 million in lost labor income in El Paso County between 2028 and 2036.<\/p>\n

Removing commerical traffic from the Bridge of Americas is the preferred option being pursued by the U.S. General Services Administration as part of its port of entry modernization plan that would be funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.<\/p>\n

Based on the study\u2019s findings, the El Paso\u00a0Chamber\u00a0is calling on local, state, and federal officials to use this data to re-evaluate and put a pause on ending commercial traffic at the Bridge of Americas.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Chamber\u00a0also urges officials to evaluate alternatives that address BOTA\u2019s infrastructure and safety needs while \u201cmaintaining commercial operations and protecting this investment for the region.\u201d<\/p>\n

The economic impact study was commissioned by the\u00a0Chamber\u00a0earlier this year after the GSA issued a \u201cRecord of Decision\u201d in 2025 preferring an alternative that eliminates commercial traffic at BOTA, a decision the\u00a0Chamber\u00a0says does not fully account for the potential impacts on trade, supply chains, jobs, and the regional economy.<\/p>\n

The study also projects $213.1 million in combined federal, state, and county tax revenue losses over the same period. Additionally, ending commercial traffic operations could cause 10.9% of commercial trade to leave the Paso del Norte region, with lost truck trade potentially reaching $36.6 billion in 2036 alone. <\/p>\n

Cross-border wait times and related annual logistics costs are also projected to increase by $79.1 million, or 17.8%, placing additional pressure on businesses and supply chains throughout the region, the Chamber said.<\/p>\n

Cross-border trade through the Paso del Norte region has grown significantly, with inflation-adjusted imports nearly doubling from $5.9 billion in January 2020 to $11.7 billion in May 2026, while exports more than doubled from $3.1 billion to nearly $7.5 billion over the same period. <\/p>\n

The region\u2019s manufacturing and trade base is also closely tied to U.S. digital infrastructure, with technology commodities accounting for 73.2% of truck exports and 77.8% of imports in 2025, the Chamber said.<\/p>\n

Removing commercial operations at BOTA would threaten the continued growth and competitiveness of El Paso\u2019s cross-border economy, increasing strain on other regional ports of entry \u2013 Tornillo, Ysleta-Zaragoza, and Santa Teresa \u2013 and is projected to move up the timeline for the region to reach operational capacity, from 2034 to 2031, the Chamber said.<\/p>\n

Using data from the El Paso Metropolitan Planning Organization, the study also concludes that as commercial traffic shifts to other ports of entry, overall emissions for the Paso del Norte region are projected to increase, including a moderate-to-significant increase in emissions at Ysleta-Zaragoza.<\/p>\n

U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, said that the Chamber\u2019s study comes \u201cnearly two years\u201d after a \u201crobust\u201d public comment period on the project ended.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the agencies which\u00a0ultimately made\u00a0the decision to remove commercial traffic, made clear to the Chamber and to me that the decision is final and would not be reversed \u00a0\u2014\u00a0even after the Chamber\u2019s visit with them in Washington earlier this year when they flew to D.C. to lobby against the project,\u201d Escobar said.<\/p>\n

Escobar added: \u201cAt this point, the decision is so far advanced that GSA is well into the bidding process, with the project expected to be awarded in the next several months. I have repeatedly urged the Chamber to join with those of us working to ensure our other land ports of entry are ready for the shift in traffic, and use their time, resources and support to help create\u00a0the private-public partnerships necessary to create more innovative, efficient crossings.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here is Escobar\u2019s entire statement:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile I appreciate the time, money and effort the Chamber has put into this study, it comes nearly two years after the robust public engagement period concluded. This period included public meetings hosted by the General Services Administration (GSA) and my office with support from the El Paso City Council and the El Paso County Commissioners Court, and\u00a0participation and\u00a0input from 12,000 El Pasoans.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the agencies which\u00a0ultimately made\u00a0the decision to remove commercial traffic, made clear to the Chamber and to me that the decision is final and would not be reversed \u00a0\u2014\u00a0even after the Chamber\u2019s visit with them in Washington earlier this year when they flew to D.C. to lobby against the project.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt this point, the decision is so far advanced that GSA is well into the bidding process, with the project expected to be awarded in the next several months. I have repeatedly urged the Chamber to join with those of us working to ensure our other land ports of entry are ready for the shift in traffic, and use their time, resources and support to help create\u00a0the private-public partnerships necessary to create more innovative, efficient crossings.<\/p>\n

\u201cEl Paso can and should lead the nation in creating more efficient, safe and advanced cross-border commercial opportunities \u2013 clearly our economy depends on that. We can also learn from other communities and how they\u2019ve benefited from specializing their land ports of entry, instead of fighting decisions that have already been finalized and made with El Pasoans in mind, especially those living near BOTA. My hope is that this report inspires the Chamber to utilize their leadership to help plan for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) \u2014 A study commissioned and funded by the El Paso Chamber says that removing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":434372,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[138,140,139],"class_list":["post-434371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-el-paso","tag-el-paso","tag-el-paso-headlines","tag-el-paso-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=434371"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434371\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/434372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=434371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=434371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=434371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}