BROWNSVILLE, Texas - The Rio Grande Guardian has exclusive video of Pete Sepulveda’s recent presentation to the South Texas Manufacturers Association.
The executive director of Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority gave a wide-ranging update. He spoke about the land ports in his county, plans for a second causeway for South Padre Island, the I-69 Corridor project, and the East Loop in Brownsville.
Sepulveda also spoke about having an interstate designation for Highway 77, between I-37 and I-2.
“Here (on the powerpoint) you see Interstate I-69. You see the two legs, Highway 77 and Highway 281. There are a couple of segments on each leg that still need to be completed in order to have a seamless interstate corridor system into the Rio Grande Valley.
“We continue to be the largest metropolitan area in the United States without a seamless interstate corridor. We're getting a lot closer, but we're still not there. And when we do it is going to be a huge accomplishment for the leadership in the River Grande Valley.
“So these are the segments that are pending in Cameron County. We do have statewide development authority, which means that Texas has the ability to do the final design and engineering. And once they do that, the project will get funded. So we're a couple of years away from having an interstate corridor.
“As a matter of fact, if some of you travel or have traveled on US 77 the last couple of months, you can see the construction activity when you get to Rivera. They're already working on the constriction of the relief route that will go around Rivera, and that will knock about another 15 minutes from a trip to Corpus Christi or to San Antonio.”
The STMA meeting was held at the Brownsville Events Center.
Editor’s Note: The above news story is the fifth in a five-part series based on Sepulveda’s presentation at the STMA meeting. Click here to read part one, here to read part two, here to read part three, and here to read part four.
