New Mexico Border Authority awards rail feasibility study to HNTB

Kansas City, Mo. — The New Mexico Border Authority selected HNTB Corporation to perform a comprehensive study determining the feasibility of a new rail bypass and international rail border crossing near the Santa Teresa, N.M., Port of Entry into Mexico. The results of this initial work, if deemed feasible, will guide the state of New Mexico and its associates in developing the new bypass and border crossing.

Building on the economic success the New Mexico Border Authority, Santa Teresa and Doña Ana County have experienced with the recent opening of Union Pacific Railroad’s Strauss Yard, the feasibility study should take approximately 12 months to complete.

As part of the HNTB team, multiple New Mexico-based subconsultants will provide technical expertise and regional insight for the study.

“We are honored that the New Mexico Border Authority has selected our team to conduct this analysis,” said Carlos Lopez, P.E., HNTB South and Central Texas office leader. “The result will be an in-depth study that benefits the state of New Mexico and provides guidance for future rail plans.”

A public outreach program will foster extensive coordination between U.S. and Mexican governmental agencies; the states of Chihuahua, New Mexico and Texas; the existing freight rail carriers Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway Co.; Ferrocarril Mexicana, S.A. de C.V. (Ferromex); and various local stakeholders.

“HNTB has been engaged in this project for a decade by participating in advisory committee meetings between the states of New Mexico, Texas and Chihuahua, and the three freight rail carriers in the region,” said Joe Lileikis, HNTB rail practice leader. “Successful implementation of this project carries with it the potential to dramatically enhance the economic vitality of the region.”

Previously, HNTB led the planning, environmental clearance, presidential permitting, funding, design and construction of the Brownsville-Matamoros West Rail Bypass Port of Entry in South Texas, the first international rail crossing in Texas between the United States and Mexico in 100 years.