News / US-Mexico connectivity push drives autonomous freight corridor project

Concern about tariffs hitting flows between the US and Mexico is not slowing a push to expand cross-border infrastructure.

Besides plans to build new bridges and expand existing ones, a futuristic concept to move ocean containers and trailers has received the green light from Washington.

Logistics players as well as shippers continue to flock to the border to establish or beef up cross-border capabilities, including, recently, DP World, Geodis Logistics, Evans Transportation, Benchmark Electronics, and We Store Frozen.

Inevitably the focus on flows between Mexico and its northern neighbour draws attention to the bridges across the Rio Grande. More than 18,000 trucks a day move across Laredo’s World Trade and Solidarity bridges – key infrastructure that pushed Laredo past Los Angeles last year to become the largest US import gateway.

Truckers, cargo owners and legislators are unanimous that more infrastructure is needed to reduce the lengthy wait times at these border crossings, which have stretched as long as 24 hours. At this point, two new bridges in south Texas are in the planning stage – the 4/5 bridge in Laredo and the Puerto Verde Global Trade bridge in Eagle Pass.

In a separate move, the state of Texas is planning to add two lanes to the Anzalduas International Bridge in McAllen. In April, the state department cleared the way for an expansion of the Solidarity Bridge from four to 18 lanes.

Near that location, a private consortium is planning to set up a futuristic corridor dedicated purely to freight. The founders of ’Green Corridors’, as the project is called, obtained the green light from the White House this month for a 160-mile elevated guideway, stretching from Laredo to Monterrey, on which autonomous freight shuttles will move containers and trailers.

The concept aims to reduce border wait times, bring down cross-border transport costs and reduce emissions. Instead of waiting for hours at border crossings, truckers are supposed to deliver trailers or containers to automated terminals at either end.

“This type of development is the future of freight; a system that operates 24/7, doesn’t clog our highways, and enhances security, while reducing environmental impact,” said Matthew Chang, founder and principal engineer of Chang Robotics, one of the firms involved in the project.

The Green Corridors website lists KPMG among consultants, Chang Robotics and Appsquire Consulting as tech partners, as well as five engineering firms, while the Texas Department of Transportation, City of Laredo, Port Houston, the office of the Texas governor and the government of Nueva Leon are identified as partners. Leading Texas-based lawmakers have been involved in the passage of the concept through state and federal legislatures.

Notwithstanding the support of several government agencies, the project is a purely private initiative, bearing the full cost of the project (estimated to cost between $6bn and $10bn), including any infrastructure required for government agencies – notably the US Customs and Border Control and the Department of Homeland Security. Green Corridors emphasises that there will not be any cost for government agencies.

While the touted environmental benefits presumably did not generate a lot of enthusiasm in the White House, the cost element and the security aspect were certainly most welcome. According to Green Corridors, all freight will be scanned upon entering the system, whereas only 5% of freight trucked across border bridges is fully scanned.

The Trump administration has given Green Corridors five years to get started on the project, with a licence to construct, maintain, and operate it. For the investors this is supposed to be only the first step for a concept they intend to take elsewhere. They have tabled a proposal for the same system to be developed between the port of Houston and an inland terminal, and plan to build the system in other major US port cities, according to Mr Chang.