Posted on 06/25/2006 8:40:04 AM PDT by o_zarkman44
The I-35 corridor is the favorite choice because there already exists the highway corridor and it would only take some expansion of the right of way to add additional lanes. The other proposed routes are not developed, nor is right of way aquired.
I-35 has already had some improvements such as the fiber optic cable tracking system etc. Have you seen the rapid pass scanners on major highways which allow trucks to pass without going through scales and inspection? Same tracking system to be used for containers moving up the gash in America.
Transportation of goods from ports is not the problem. The problem lays with the lack of border controls and inspections at the border. How can we feel confortable when border inspections of shipping containers are done 1200 miles north of the border in what would be designated as "international zone", which is what all ports of entry are?
We cannot even control the invasion of people across our borders now because our government does not have a will to enforce the law. Illegals working in America are strictly a business issue according to the current operating philosophy of government. Since they are completely overlooking the negative issues on immigration, how can the business model of opening the borders to the flow of goods to interior "ports" be trusted as the benefit without consequence when the same people are behind the promotion of illegal immigration?
No, transportation of goods is an absolute necessity; we can't just toss it off as just being "not the problem". We need more of it. The 20th century was an improvement over the 1700's. We made it so ships could come from all over the world into new international ports like Chicago, Detroit, and Cleveland while still being totally under US government sovereign jurisdiction and not under the control of some UN black helicopter corps. We don't stop air-traffic in mid ocean. We have them land in Topeka International and goods clear customs there.
"...lack of border controls and inspections at the border... ...We cannot even control the invasion of people across our borders now because our government does not have a will to enforce the law... ...are completely overlooking the negative issues on immigration.. .... are behind the promotion of illegal immigration.."
Everyone can speak for himself, but my take is that most of us in America are not a helpless idiots and we don't believe that all is lost. Most of us can and do control our borders, and we do not promote any illegal activity of any kind and we jail those that do. Every year we spend million of tax dollars and millions of man-hours on border control. Most Americans are very good at what they do and accomplish what we set our minds to. It's not for nothing that most illegals in the US were forced to first enter legally and then restore their illegal status by violating the terms of their legal visas afterwards.
If you're not married to this all is lost doom'n'gloom crap that's so popular these days, then you probably want a serious grown-up border improvement plan. We can start with eliminating the bottle necks we got in Texas and California and building new decentralized updated port facilities with more manpower than we got now. We can do with trucks and trains what we do ships and planes. Beats the hell out of some goofy 30-foot high wall down the center of a 40-foot deep Rio Grande.
The I-35 corridor is the favorite choice because there already exists the highway corridor and it would only take some expansion of the right of way to add additional lanes.
True that Houston is the 6th largest port. But Houston is already connected to I-35 via I-10 west to SAn Antonio, about 200 miles, or going to Dallas also connects I-35 about 250 miles to the North. So Houston is still connected to the I-35 corridor and shipping of goods from the port already uses those highways. I realize there is an I-69 corridor being promoted by other cities like Indy and Memphis and Detroit, but little of the infrastructure has been developed. It is a plan on paper.. The key to the I-35 corridor is that it is almost dead center in the USA and the corridor is already developed, although there would be a few changes for the routes to bypass some areas. Since regress from the highway will be almost non-existant except for ports and cross connecting "international" corridors there will be no need to pass through urban areas not designated as ports. The other part of the plan is the I-66 trans continental highway running East and West which would also be an international port to port connector.
It all looks good on paper.
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