Inspection building opens at Nogales Port of Entry

Public Roads, May-June, 2004

A new truck-inspection facility on the border of southern Arizona and Mexico combines new technologies and cooperative administration. Operated jointly by Federal and State authorities, the Nogales Port of Entry is a two-story, two-bay, state-of-the-art building that houses inspection teams from the Arizona Department of Public Safety (Highway Patrol), Arizona DOT Motor Vehicle Division, and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

The new building is part of a larger endeavor called the Nogales Federal-State Port Improvement Project, which combines the efforts of those organizations with those of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the U.S. General Services Administration. The project incorporates intelligent transportation systems (ITS), joint credentialing facilities, out-of-service parking, and hazardous waste containment--all within the shared Federal-State facility.

To put these improvements into action, the Port of Entry recently held a training exercise to simulate a suicide bomber setting off explosions. The mock disaster drill, designed to test the readiness of government and military personnel from both sides of the border, demonstrated the efficiency of domestic and international communications at the Port of Entry.

Arizona DOT