7th firm gets OK to truck across border
Louie Gilot / El Paso Times
Article Launched: 11/18/2007 12:00:00 AM MST


Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua, or GCC, a Mexico cement maker with several plants in the United States, has received a permit to send trucks into the United States under an ongoing pilot program to open the border to Mexico trucks, company officials said last week. GCC is the first company from the state of Chihuahua to receive the permit. So far, seven Mexican companies are enrolled and four U.S. companies are allowed to send trucks into Mexico.

GCC officials said that they were interested in shipping specialty cement, but that they still had to secure insurance and take care of other paperwork before they actually send a truck beyond the border.

By then, they may not be allowed to do so any longer. Last week, the House of Representatives passed a ban on funding the cross-border truck program. The Senate was expected to do the same.


Pedestrian rerouting: Downtown got its bridge back last week, when all nine car lanes reopened for the duration of the holidays. But in a little over a week, the pedestrian rerouting that will take shoppers away from the main retail corridor will start. Customs and Border Protection officials said that starting Nov. 27, pedestrians will be directed to temporary trailers within the CBP compound. They will go through inspection at 12 inspection stations. Border crossers will then exit onto Oregon Street.
CBP officials said space inside the trailers is limited and travelers who need to apply for I-94 documents to travel in the interior of


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the United States should do so at the Bridge of the Americas, the Zaragoza Bridge or the Santa Teresa port of entry.

Flight to Juárez: The Mexican airline Volaris inaugurated its first Toluca-Juárez flight last week. Juárez city officials who attended the event said the planes are new and the company boasts 98 percent punctuality. The company will fly between Juárez, Toluca and Guadalajara, and may expand, they said.
Last week, Juárez officials also inaugurated a new 10-story hospital, Star Medica, across from Las Misiones mall, representing a $30 million investment. That was the second inauguration of a large hospital in about a month. Hospital Angeles opened in October.


Express crossings: Customs and Border Protection officials said now is a good time to enroll in the Dedicated Commuter Lane because appointment slots are wide open at the Zaragoza Bridge enrollment center, because the agency increased hours of operation and because the DCL pass can be used as an ID instead of a U.S. passport come January.
For more information: http://www.cbp. gov/xp/cgov/travel/trusted_traveler/sentri.


Iris scans: The technology bug has bitten Mexico as well. Juárez officials are now the ones talking about scanning the eyes of travelers crossing into Mexico. Juárez Mayor Jose Reyes Ferriz said last week that a U.S. company had donated iris scans and would be testing the systems for possible application at the ports of entry. Reyes Ferris apparently wants it used to identify sex offenders after the recent arrest of a U.S. citizen accused of crossing the border to rape women in Juárez.
Submit your border trade news at lgilot@elpasotimes.com, 546-6131.



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