CLINTON ADMINISTRATION COMMITTED TO ASSURING TRUCK SAFETY, SLATER SAYS

U.S. Department of Transportation
April 10, 1999

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DOT 53-99
Saturday, April 10, 1999
Contact: Bill Mosley
Tel.: (202) 366-5571

PHARR, Texas -- The Clinton administration is committed to assuring the safety of Mexican vehicles operating in the United States, U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater said today.

Secretary Slater today toured U.S.-Mexican border facilities at the Pharr Bridge and met with Rep. Rubén Hinojosa of Texas, Mexican officials, local and regional officials from Texas and industry representatives.

"Safety is President Clinton’s highest transportation priority," Secretary Slater said. "We are working with the government of Mexico and officials in Texas both to assure that Mexican vehicles can operate safely, and that U.S. border inspection facilities are ready to handle the increase in truck traffic." The Secretary added that he hoped that the United States could address these safety and infrastructure issues in the not-too-distant future.

Also today, Secretary Slater joined Rep. Solomon P. Ortiz of Texas in a ribbon-cutting ceremony inaugurating the construction of the Brownsville, Texas, Railroad Relocation Project, which will reroute the area’s rail system away from the center of the city. The project will improve the safety of rail and highway transportation by removing rail traffic from urban areas. Secretary Slater noted that Brownsville’s location at the border of Mexico and its port facilities make it an important hub for cross-border trading, and that the relocation project will enhance the city’s ability to safely increase its rail, highway and maritime traffic as U.S.-Mexican trade grows.

Today’s events come at the conclusion of the Secretary’s six-day, eight-state tour of key transportation projects.