Arizonans may have already heard about…
- A historic $110 billion investment to upgrade America’s roads and bridges
- $65 billion to strengthen electricity grids around the country and promote resilience of power infrastructure to prevent outages
- The strongest investment ever in clean drinking water—with more than $8 billion to strengthen water systems throughout the American West, including creating or conserving 100,000 acre feet of water yearly at Lake Mead
- $65 billion to deploy high-speed broadband, expand broadband internet access, and help families afford broadband service
… but what else is included for Arizona in the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act led by U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema?
Land Ports of Entry
Land Ports of Entry in Arizona and across the United States serve as key national security infrastructure — and critical commercial hubs, allowing Arizona industries and employers to engage in international trade.
As Chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Border Management, Senator Kyrsten Sinema ensured that her bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act includes crucial investments to modernize and strengthen Land Ports of Entry. The legislation funds every Customs and Border Protection Land Port of Entry project on the agency’s five-year plan — including completion of the San Luis Port of Entry project and both Douglas Port of Entry projects.
San Luis Port of Entry: In fiscal year 2019, the San Luis Port processed 2,894,655 vehicles and 2,447,814 pedestrians — more traffic than it was designed to accommodate. Existing facilities are significantly undersized and no longer meet the mission requirements of Customs and Border Protection.
- Senator Sinema successfully worked to include the first half of the San Luis Port of Entry upgrade project — $152.4 million, focused on expansion of north and southbound travel lanes as well as inspection facilities — in the 2020 federal appropriations bill.
- Senator Sinema then successfully included the second half of the project’s funding in her bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Douglas Ports of Entry projects: The Raul Hector Castro Port of Entry serves the Douglas, Arizona region, processing both commercial and non-commercial traffic. In 2019, the Port processed 1.6 million privately owned vehicles, nearly 1 million pedestrians, and approximately 27,000 commercial vehicles. The Port — which was originally constructed in the 1930s — processes large equipment and hazardous mining materials.
- As part of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Senator Sinema successfully included funding for:
- $237.6 million for construction of a new Land Port of Entry in Douglas: The City of Douglas has agreed to donate an 80 acre site to the federal government for the construction of a new commercial Port, to move those operations (including the movement of hazardous materials) west of the downtown area.
- $202.5 million for modernization of all existing structures and expanding processing capacity at the existing Raul Hector Castro Port: This second project will begin after the new commercial facility is completed. Like San Luis, the current port is undersized and lacks needed infrastructure..
These investments will allow for more efficient cross-border trade to support Arizona jobs — and better equip Customs and Border Protection to detect and stop criminal behavior.
The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (full text available HERE) proposes the strongest investment in America’s critical infrastructure in more than a century without raising taxes on everyday Americans.
The legislation is the result of bipartisan negotiations led by U.S. Senators Kyrsten Sinema and Rob Portman (Ohio), with Senators from both parties and President Biden.
Click HERE to see how the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act impacts Tribal communities
Click HERE to see how the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act impacts wildfire mitigation
Click HERE to see how the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act impacts water systems
Click HERE to see how the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act impacts airports
Click HERE to see how the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act impacts electricity and power grids