Smith: Port of Harlingen will try again to expand its overweight corridors

HARLINGEN, Texas – The Port of Harlingen will try again to expand its overweight corridor route in the 89th Legislature starting in January.

As in the 88th session, the legislation will be carried by state Rep. Janie Lopez, R-San Benito.

The legislation failed to make it into law in 2023, in part because of opposition from the Texas Department of Public Safety.

But, says Walker Smith, the Port of Harlingen’s port director, the legislation has merit because it would improve safety on the road. 

In an exclusive interview with Ron Whitlock Reports, Smith explained that three entities in the Rio Grande Valley have the authority to issue permits for shippers to use overweight corridors in the Rio Grande Valley – Hidalgo County Regional Mobility Authority, the Port of Brownsville, and the Port of Harlingen.

He said trucks weighing no more than the Mexican Legal Weight Limit or 125,000 pounds can use an overweight corridor. On a regular corridor they can only carry 80,000 pounds.

“If we’re able to connect these corridors, it provides flexibility to the transportation system and dedicates those overweight trucks to these dedicated routes,” Smith said.

“So, we’re going to be looking to extend our overweight corridor from FM 509 to the Hidalgo County-Cameron County line, a 13-mile strip.

“The legislation would essentially designate this route, FM, 509, US Highway 281, to the Hidalgo County and Cameron County lines. And at that point, the Hidalgo County RMA corridor would pick up and carry the cargo into the Pharr Bridge, or vice versa.”

Hidalgo County RMA’s overweight corridor routes are actually connected to all four commercial international bridges in the county – Anzalduas, Pharr, Donna and Progreso.

“Essentially, what we will be looking to do is connect Hidalgo County RMA’s overweight corridor with our overweight corridor to be able to provide flexibility to the transportation industry for the passage of overweight cargo from our port to Brownsville,” Smith said. “And they can essentially utilize Los Indios Bridge or the Pharr Bridge, in order to cross into Mexico.”

In 2023, Rep. Lopez carried the Port of Harlingen’s overnight corridor legislation. It was called HB 1888.

Independent analysis of a committee substitute for the legislation noted:

“Current law allows the Texas Transportation Commission to authorize a port authority to issue permits for the movement of oversize or overweight trucks carrying cargo on state highways in certain counties. 

“An overweight corridor places a fee on overweight trucks transporting goods for the purpose of maintaining and operating the overweight corridor’s highways. These overweight corridors allow for the efficient and safe movement of goods and incentivize cargo transport companies to call on these ports. 

“The 84th Texas Legislature established an overweight corridor between the Free Trade International Bridge in Los Indios to the Port of Harlingen using Farm-to-Market Roads 509 and 106. However, recent cartel activity on the Mexican side of the Los Indios Bridge has made it unsafe for cargo vehicles to cross at that location. Many truckers now prefer to cross the border at a different location but to do so must travel on a 13-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 281 that has not been designated as an overweight corridor.

“C.S.H.B. 1888 seeks to address this issue by creating two new overweight corridors and authorizing the commission, through their rule-making process, and in consultation with the Harlingen Port Authority, to designate other routes as overweight corridors.”

In his interview with Ron Whitlock Reports, Smith stressed the flexibility his legislation offers.

“It provides flexibility to the system. If one bridge goes down, we’re still able to access other ports of entry. It provides routes for these overweight trucks to be able to get across the bridge into Mexico.”

Asked why DPS does not like the overweight corridors in Hidalgo and Cameron counties to be linked together, Smith said:

“So, they opposed it last year because they’re saying that there is some fuel theft that is going on the Mexican side. I don’t like to use the ‘C’ (cartel) word. They allege that there is some fuel theft going on. 

“I don’t pretend to know what goes on over there. And I don’t really like to speak too much about it, because while we do know that there is some illegitimate business going on and nefarious activities, my job is to move cargo and to provide economic benefits to the region.”

Smith continued:

“Where we run into issues is on the Mexican side is, they close the bridges at times, and so if they close the Los Indios Bridge, that essentially means that my cargo cannot move that day, because the overweight cargo that we’re moving cannot go to the bridge, cannot cross. And so, if we have the flexibility of connecting these corridors… because essentially, right now, these corridors are… it’s one way traffic: I can only cross my overweight traffic at the Los Indios Bridge, Brownsville can only cross their overweight traffic at the Veterans Bridge.”

This reporter asked Smith to repeat the current rules:

“Brownsville has its dedicated bridge, Veterans Bridge, as they can only cross overweight cargo there. We can only cross overweight cargo at the Los Indios Bridge, only. No flexibility. Hidalgo County RMA cannot cross anything, anywhere other than the Pharr bridge. And so, if we’re able to connect these corridors, it provides flexibility to the transportation system and dedicates those overweight trucks to these dedicated routes.”

Allowing shippers to carry more cargo on certain designated routes means less truckers on the road, Smith argued.

“So, we’re minimizing the amounts of trucks on the road and minimizing the routes that they can take. There would be only one or two routes that they could take if we were able to connect these corridors.”

Smith added: “The Port of Brownsville and the Port of Harlingen are major economic drivers for our region, and providing that flexibility to the transportation system will improve our ability and our efficiency to move our cargo to its final destination.”

Editor’s Note: Here is an audio recording of Ron Whitlock’s interview with Walker Smith about his overweight corridor legislation:

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