Today, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has resumed processing commercial traffic at the Marcelino Serna port of entry.
August 7, 2023 will be in the books as the date when a seven-year-old cargo project finally had a breakthrough.
Port of entry resumes operations
In March 2016, a cargo lot was opened at this port of entry, however trade operations were temporarily suspended in May 2017 because of limited traffic.
This freeze on commercial services lingered for over six years. It wasn’t until June of this year that a decision to resume trade activity was made.
Limited traffic upheld this service suspension, however with Mexico’s June completion of its Samalayuca toll road, industry stakeholders and Mexican officials requested CBP to reopen the entry to freight movement.
The new highway serves as a high-capacity corridor for trucks traveling from Mexico’s northern Chihuahua state to the border at Marcelino Serna, bypassing traffic congestion at the city of Jaurez and El Paso border crossing.
CBP promptly agreed to resume trade activity through the once dormant gateway.
“This state of the art port was built with the future in mind…,” acting CBP Director of Field Operations Ray Provencio said in a CBP news release. “CBP stands ready to meet the growing needs of international trade in our region.”
Open for business
Starting today, the Marcelino Serna port of entry is open for business. Currently, the cargo facility’s hours will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, however these may change based upon demand and usage.
Right off the bat, trade officials are expecting as many as 300 trucks a week traversing the reopened port.
Marcelino Serna’s facilities don’t just support commercial traffic, but also boasts two inspection booths, ten covered commercial docks, and designated areas for hazmat containment, bulk cargo, and agriculture quarantine.
Oh, and the cherry on top, a heliport.
The border crossing’s six-lane bridge, which spans 1,274 feet, features single lanes authorized for commercial vehicles only.
Marcelino Serna has also set aside 272 acres for future facility expansions, tentative on demand and usage.
The port of entry originally opened to car and pedestrian traffic nearly nine-years ago. At that time, it was named the Tornillo-Guadalupe port of entry but was renamed in 2017 after decorated World War I veteran Marcelino Serna.
Final Thoughts
U.S. and Mexico trade is not slowing down anytime soon. In May alone, freight flow between the two neighbors totaled $68.7 billion.
The busiest truck ports with Mexico are in Texas, at El Paso and Laredo, so enabling Marcelino Serna as an alternative gateway to bypass these other crossings could reap improvements to overall freight movement.
All in all, the U.S. and Mexico share a 2,000-mile border with 55 active land ports of entry. Welcome to the party, Marcelino Serna.
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