Report: Border infrastructure needs investment

   Trade across U.S. borders is growing, but money spent on infrastructure is not keeping pace, according to a report by the Coalition for America’s Gateways and Corridors.
   In Connecting North America: U.S. Road Border Needs, the organization found that the U.S. must make a commitment to improving the flow of goods across all borders. As an example, the coalition used Southern California, which is congested because it doesn’t contain the proper infrastructure for the level of international trade that flows through the area.
   To help solve the issue, the organization has proposed a Federal Freight Trust Fund, which would support transportation projects for all states and modes. Officials would select projects that would have a broad impact on national and international transportation needs. The program would also ensure long-term funding to projects that need to be supported.
   The coalition is also concerned about optimizing and expanding capacity, and improving throughput. Capacity would expand by improving infrastructure and adding more staff at the borders. Improvements in throughput would come from more efficient border inspections, achieved by segmenting the trucking population and expanding trusted traveler programs.
   “Efficient operations at our nation’s land gateways, which link us to our largest trading partners, are essential to supporting both international trade and domestic manufacturing,” the coalition’s Mort Downey said in a statement. “Investment to support our land border infrastructure needs is necessary to ensuring unfettered tri-lateral trade.”