La Entrada al Pacífico is a trade corridor designated as "Trade Corridor 56" by the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act. The corridor is an international project between Mexico and the United States as a route from the Pacific Ocean port of Topolobampo in the Mexican state of

Sinaloa Sinaloa (), officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sinaloa), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is d ...

to the U.S. state of Texas and beyond by way of the Midland-Odessa area. There is also a proposed upgrade of the rail connection, which might be easier by not requiring the addition of new bridges and tunnels in the

Barranca de Cobre Copper Canyon (Spanish: Barrancas del Cobre) is a group of six distinct canyons in the Sierra Madre Occidental in the southwestern part of the Mexican state, state of Chihuahua (state), Chihuahua in northwestern Mexico that is in size. The can ...

region. Its canyons are comparable in depth to the Grand Canyon in the United States.

Route

Mexican section

Initially proposed in 1997, this cooperative U.S. - Mexico trade route would begin in Topolobampo,

, and travel along Federal Highway 32 which as of July 2016, effectively ends at Choix. From there, the route is intended to travel through San Rafael, on currently-nonexistent roads that were supposed to have been finished by 2010. From San Rafael, the route would continue to the state capital,

Chihuahua Chihuahua may refer to: Places *Chihuahua (state), a Mexican state **Chihuahua (dog), a breed of dog named after the state **Chihuahua cheese, a type of cheese originating in the state **Chihuahua City, the capital city of the state **Chihuahua Mun ...

. The corridor then follows the newest section of highway to the border crossing of Ojinaga/ Presidio.

American section

The route continues from Presidio on U.S. Route 67 (US 67) to the

Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally pl ...

(I-10) interchange. It then follows I-10/US 67 until US 67 goes north off the interstate and intersects US 385. The route then follows US 385 to Odessa, Texas at

I-20 Interstate 20 (I‑20) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I-20 runs beginning at an interchange with I-10 in Scroggins Draw, Texas, and ending at an interchange with I-95 in Florence, South Carolina. Between ...

. It then follows I-20 east to FM 1788 south of

Midland International Airport Midland International Air and Space Port (formerly Midland International Airport) is in the city limits of Midland, Texas, United States, about midway between Downtown Midland and Downtown Odessa, owned and operated by the City of Midland. In ...

. It follows FM 1788 north to the proposed SH 349 reliever route to the main highway north of

Midland Midland may refer to: Places Australia * Midland, Western Australia Canada * Midland, Albert County, New Brunswick * Midland, Kings County, New Brunswick * Midland, Newfoundland and Labrador * Midland, Ontario India * Midland Ward, Kohima, Nagal ...

. The final leg of the highway follows SH 349 to Lamesa.

Alternate sections

Lamesa to Amarillo

From Lamesa, the corridor follows US 87 to Lubbock and then it follows I-27 from Lubbock to Amarillo.

Midland to Fort Worth and Dallas

From the FM 1788 junction, the route follows I-20 to

Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

and Dallas.

Midland to Wichita Falls

From the FM 1788 junction, the route follows I-20 to Abilene. Then, the route follows US 277 to Wichita Falls

Impacts to Midland/Odessa

Midland-Odessa stands to benefit greatly from this trade corridor. Plans include an inland port by Union Pacific and other facilities.

Support

The major support from Midland-Odessa comes from the organization, MOTRAN (Midland-Odessa Transportation Alliance). There is also some support from the governor of the Mexican state of

. The initial project was conceived to assist local Mexican power companies in the regional conversion from coal to natural gas, increase efficiency of import/export logistics as well as promoting and expanding trade between the neighboring nations.

Opposition

Citizens from the Big Bend area of West Texas have voiced their opinion that a larger highway through the area would damage the beauty of the area. The lack of support has prompted TXDOT to find reliever routes around cities in the area.

References

Alpine Avalanche "Analysis: Hey, guys, it's time to take down those signs" (February 22, 2008)Alpine Avalanche "Entrada news surprises Alpine" (February 22, 2008)KRTS Marfa Public Radio "No Four-Lane Highway Through The Big Bend." (February 20, 2008)
* ttp://www.star-telegram.com/275/v-print/story/78055.html Star-Telegram "Storm gathers over trade corridor" (April 23, 2007)br>Big Bend Sentinel "Midland city council amends La Entrada resolution to support Big Bend communities" (April 12, 2007)
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070928142643/http://www.oaoa.com/onset?id=600&template=article.html Odessa American "Trucking or Tranquility" (April 15, 2007)br>Terrell County News Leader "'La Entrada' gets airing" (March 23, 2007)
* ttp://www.alpineavalanche.com/articles/2007/03/15/news/news01.txt Alpine Avalanche "Citizens turn out to protest 'La Entrada'" (March 15, 2007)br>Odessa American "La Entrada Opponents Speak Out" (March 21, 2007)StopTheTrucks.orgwww.la-entrada-al-pacifico.comMOTRANLa Entrada planners fault opponents' 'scare tactics'
{{DEFAULTSORT:La Entrada al Pacifico United States federal transportation legislation Ector County, Texas Midland County, Texas Crane County, Texas Upton County, Texas Dawson County, Texas Pecos County, Texas Presidio County, Texas Transportation in Chihuahua (state) Sinaloa