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Jul 1, 2002 12:00 PM

United States Transportation Secretary Norman Y Mineta has announced $54 million in grants to help ensure safe operation of Mexico-domiciled commercial motor vehicles in the United States and improve traffic flow at border crossings in the four border states.

This money was appropriated by Congress from the federal-aid highways revenue aligned budget authority to be distributed to Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas under the Department of Transportation's Border Infrastructure Program (BIP). Of the $54 million, $2.1 million will be awarded to Arizona, $8.9 million to California, $2.2 million to New Mexico, and $40.8 million to Texas.

The objective of the BIP is twofold: safe operation of Mexico-domiciled commercial motor vehicles operating in the United States, and improved traffic flow at border crossings in the four border states. Projects financed under the BIP will include:

• Construction of eight new commercial motor vehicle safety inspection facilities at the Texas border.

• Upgrade and final construction of an automated port of entry at the Santa Teresa NM border crossing that will increase the number of commercial motor vehicle safety inspections that can be conducted at the facility.

• Construction of additional inspection bays and parking areas for out-of-service vehicles at the commercial vehicle enforcement facility at Calexico CA.

The BIP is a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) initiative under which the federal government contributes 80% of the project cost and the four states involved pay 20% of the expenses. FHWA is the administering agency.