Border Trade Advisory Committee meets in Brownsville; delivers a wealth of information

BROWNSVILLE, Texas – A South Texas city with an extensive network of trails and a multimodal system of transportation.

 A space hub shuttling passengers from here to as far as the moon.

Millions of dollars invested in infrastructure projects such as for road and highway improvements.

A House bill – HB 4422 – to conduct a study on public safety, border security and Texas-Mexico crossings, among  other things.

There was also the thousands of jobs created by companies from the private sector that chose to do business in the Rio Grande Valley.

Such was the exchange of information given during the latest Border Trade Advisory Committee meeting held Tuesday, April 16, at the Brownsville Events Center. BTAC is administered by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). The meeting was chaired by Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson.

Among those giving opening remarks were Brownsville Mayor John Cowen, Jr., state Sen. Morgan LaMantia, and Texas Transportation Commissioners Alejandro ‘Alex’ G. Meade, III, and Alvin New.

Kathryn Lueders, general manager with Spacex’s Starbase, said more than 2,000 people are employed at the rocket manufacturing near Boca Chica Beach State Park east of Brownsville.

“Eighty percent of the workforce originates from the Rio Grande Valley,” she said. “They are building everything, except for the engines.”

Lueders said that includes the largest and most powerful rocket called the Starship – 397 feet tall with 16 million pounds of thrust.

The rocket is designed to be fully reusable, adding the first one was tested and flown in April and a second one is scheduled to take off in November.

Lueders also spoke of the importance of having good roads such as Texas Highway 4 which she called a major artery and a critical part of SpaceX – a company Elon Musk founded 15 years ago.

In addition to the jobs created at Starbase, she said more than 500 contractors are working at the facility she described as a space port.

‘We do really appreciate the support of all the communities around us,” she said. “We want Starbase to be the place to launch our operations.”

Helen Ramirez, manager with the City of Brownsville, said having a good system of transportation makes a big difference when it comes to economic development.

She said more than 1.2 million people live in the Brownsville-Matamoros area – a region she said is now served by a multimodal transportation system.

That is by water, rail, air, highway, space and pedestrian traffic.

Ramirez also said Brownsville is on route to become a P5G, or smart city.

In addition to SpaceX, she said the Rio Grande Valley and Texas are expected to create some 7,000 jobs over a 10- year period, adding the new companies committed themselves to keep a sizeable workforce once their projects are completed.

Pedro ‘Pete’ Alvarez, district engineer for TxDOT’s Pharr District, gave an overview on the many projects going on today and coming soon.

He said millions of dollars are being invested in improving Texas Highways 4, 48, I-69E and U.S. Highway 83.

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