Across Arizona and Sonora, business and political leaders continue to forge alliances with the hope of benefiting each state’s economy.
Binational partnerships and projects have been created or enhanced, but in order to achieve economic benefit from these efforts, things need to move.
The transportation part of the “Five Ts” is crucial to increasing trade and reaping the benefits of goods moving through our region — so as not to become simply a hallway.
“The more Southern Arizona and Northern Mexico businesses know and tap into each other’s strengths, the more prosperous our region becomes,” Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild says of his continued outreach in Mexico. “Many companies and manufacturers elsewhere don’t know what our regional capabilities are.”
As that capability continues to be highlighted and partnerships formed, the amount of trucks, trains and even aircraft that move throughout the region will increase significantly.
Infrastructure upgrades are under way in both states.
In Sonora, Federal Highway 15, which leads to the Arizona border, is undergoing expansion, dredging has begun at the Port of Guaymas to expand its size and capability, and Ferromex is studying ways to move the main railroad away from downtown Nogales, Sonora.
In Arizona, the Mariposa Port of Entry is scheduled for completion this year, Union Pacific continues improvements to tracks on the Sunset Route and plans are afoot for a new Interstate 11.
Train and truck traffic is already on the upswing.
Currently eight trains roll into Tucson from Mexico daily. That is expected to increase to nearly 75 trains within five years.
Trains headed east or west run through town 25 times a day and could climb to 100 daily within three years.
“And we become a parking lot if we don’t invest in the infrastructure,” John Moffatt, director of strategic planning for Pima County, says bluntly. “What does that do to your life?”
The county has already laid out a plan to create a new parkway on the city’s southeast side to provide eastbound trucks a route around the city to avoid congestion.
The parkway could also be marketed as a hub for companies looking to relocate or expand near infrastructure that helps move their product, Moffatt said.
He said two interstates, access to Union Pacific’s main line, airports and Sonora’s amenities make Pima County appealing.
Plus, Moffatt said, highly trained veterans in the community are an excellent workforce. “And this all means more jobs,” he said.
While politicians and business leaders recognize the importance of growing trade and transportation in the region, many residents express hesitation.
“Our neighbors need to connect this to their jobs,” Moffatt said. “Joe Public needs to make the connection to that truck driving down the road.”
