(The following story by Ashley Richards appeared on the Laredo Morning Times website on July 31.)
LAREDO, Texas — A representative of Kansas City Southern spoke out against plans for a new railroad bridge after a binational conference held in Laredo on Monday.City Manager Carlos Villarreal informed a group of federal officials from both the U.S. and Mexico of the resolutions recently passed by the City of Laredo and Webb County to construct the railroad bridge at the Colombia Solidarity International Bridge, which would then run along the right of way of the Camino-Colombia toll road.
If completed, the bridge would be the first international rail bridge between the U.S. and Mexico approved in more than 100 years. Federal funding for a portion of the approximately $150 million project is a likely possibility as well.
But Kansas City Southern railway spokesman David Eaton said the plan does not benefit his company. And if it is built as proposed in north Laredo, Eaton said, Kansas City Southern will not move its operations out of downtown as the city hopes to do.
Much of the rail traffic will be moved out of downtown regardless of Kansas City Southern’s lack of cooperation, Villarreal said, because approximately 80 percent of the trains crossing are Union Pacific.
“I’m confident that this project will go through,” Villarreal said to the U.S.-Mexico delegation.
If KCS goes along with the existing rail bridge plan and moves its operations out of downtown, the company could build its own bridge in south Laredo, Villarreal said. But Eaton said a bridge in the north would take away some of KCS’s business, thus reducing revenue and making the company unable to build a southern bridge.
Public safety is of utmost importance in the rail bridge situation, Villarreal said. A catastrophic event occurring along the railway would be magnified if it happened in the railroads’ current location that weaves directly through downtown Laredo, passing residential and small business districts.
Eaton said Kansas City Southern is also concerned about public safety but he proposes a bridge in south Laredo that would run along the right of way of the fifth international bridge. That track would also connect more easily with Kansas City Southern’s existing facilities.
Also Monday, local representatives showed federal officials the daily obstacles Laredo faces at its international bridges, including a first-hand experience of bridge-crossing delays. By witnessing the problems awaiting improvements, Laredo officials said they believe there will be quick action at the federal level with regard to funding allocations and pushing applications through the approval processes.
“For them to be able to see what we have to cope with I think it’s important,” Villarreal said after giving the group an update on the city and county’s plans for an international rail bridge and fifth vehicular bridge.
By rallying federal Mexican and U.S. officials from transportation, economic, homeland security, international affairs and other departments, each of the areas involved in the bridge projects have an equal understanding of what work needs to be completed, Laredo officials said.
Also heavily discussed and receiving much attention from the General Services Administration is the expansion of World Trade Bridge from eight to 15 lanes. General Services Administration Administrator Lurita Doan said a recent reorganization of the department’s structure was recently done in part to provide the assistance needed to construct more lanes quicker.
Funding for the project is still being discussed, but Doan said the free flow of traffic across the bridges must improve. To do that not only must more lanes be constructed, Doan said, but also technological tools must be combined with additional manpower at the bridges and alignment of operational hours on both sides of the border.
“Not all good ideas come from Washington,” Doan said, which is why she was pleased to discuss innovative solutions to traffic flow problems with Laredo officials to avoid a “cookie-cutter solution.”
Mayor Raul Salinas and County Judge Danny Valdez echoed similar satisfaction that Laredo was able to communicate to U.S. and Mexican officials that the city and county are working together to move beyond feuds of the past that halted both international bridge projects.
“This is about building bridges – no pun intended,” Salinas said about cultivating a neighborly relationship with Mexico.
“We’re sending the message that things are getting done.”