Arizona to invest $8.9M in federal funds to support work on Douglas entry port
Dec 18, 2022, 6:30 AM
Raul H. Castro Land Port of Entry in Douglas, Arizona. (Flickr Photo/U.S. Customs and Border Protection)
(Flickr Photo/U.S. Customs and Border Protection)
PHOENIX – Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey allocated nearly $9 million for infrastructure improvements in Douglas to support a federal project to expand the port of entry there.
A new $200 million commercial land port will be built 5 miles west of the aging Raul H. Castro Port of Entry, the U.S. General Services Administration announced in February. In addition, the old port will be upgraded.
Ducey said Thursday the state will use $8.9 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds for wastewater, groundwater and storage initiatives in the border town.
“This investment will energize Cochise County’s economy,” Cochise County Supervisor Ann English said in a press release.
“The port in Douglas is more than a stop on the road, it’s a gateway to revitalizing our economy, facilitating our positive trade relationship with our neighbors to the south.”
The standalone port will handle all noncommercial traffic – commuters, visitors and pedestrians.
The 4.8-acre original port was built in 1933 and expanded in 1993, according to U.S. General Services Administration, and it “is not able to fully meet” Customs and and Border Protections needs.
The governor’s office said according to U.S. Department of Transportation figures in 2021, Douglas was the northbound gateway for 28,745 trucks, 1.22 million cars, and 2.54 million people.
The funds for the new Douglas facility were part of $3.4 billion allocated for work at 26 land ports at the Mexican and Canadian border. The money came from the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill that was approved in fall 2021
