Bridge Wait Time Measurement Questioned

EL PASO, TX.- Long lines at border crossings costpeople time and businesses, money. An ABC-7 investigation finds that wait times are often rough estimates. But there’s a new plan to change that.

Every day, thousands of commuters spend a part of their day stuck in traffic on the international bridges. Every hour,they are given an estimated wait time, but it’s not always accurate.

Because of that, many people might decide not to cross the border, for fear of being caught in the gridlock. A spokesman for the Customs and Border Protection Agency told ABC-7they may begin using new technology to get a more accurate reading on the wait times.

Currently,CBP agents randomly ask motorists how long they’ve been waiting. Then those times are averaged out for an official wait time, but again, some people might exaggerate. So, theCBP is working with El Paso’s Metropolitan Planning Organization for ways to alleviate the problem.

One of severalMPO suggestions is “radio transmission” devices on vehicles that cross the bridges daily. That way, a computer can track wait times, so motoristsknow whatthey arereally up against:

“Track a vehicle as it moves through a port from the point it enters the line to the point it leaves. Have real time information available.Again this is something theMPO is looking at. It’s got an $800,000 price tag,” said CBP Spokesman, Roger Maier.

In the last fiscal year, Customs officials report about8-million people walked across the border at bridges within city limits. Nearly 16-million people drove across and more than 773,000 trucks made it through the ports of entry inside the city.

This idea is just a proposal at this point. In the meantime, construction will be underway to expand the number of lanes at several bridges to cut back on the wait time.

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Written for broadcast by Rachel Abell

Edited for KVIA.com by Miguel Martinez