Ports-to-Plains Conference to Examine Interstate Connection Linking More Than $400 Billion in U.S.-Mexico Trade
With the 2026 Ports-to-Plains Alliance Annual Conference just two weeks away, advance registration will close Friday, Aug. 28, for the Sept. 8–10 gathering in Del Rio, Texas, and Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila, Mexico.
Complimentary advance registration is required, and walk-in registration cannot be accommodated. The conference will bring together transportation, government and business leaders from the United States, Mexico and Canada to discuss infrastructure investment, international trade and the continued development of transportation and economic corridors across North America.
Conference discussions will examine the economic case for extending Interstate connectivity toward the Rio Grande Valley. Following TxDOT’s identification of the U.S. 83 and Ports-to-Plains/I-2 to I-10 route as a Statewide and Rural Connectivity Corridor, the Alliance is developing an economic study with Regional Economic Models, Inc. (REMI) and the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute (UGPTI).
The study will examine the potential economic impact and long-term transportation efficiencies of creating a continuous Interstate connection linking the existing Future I-27 system and Laredo’s more than $320 billion international trade gateway with the Rio Grande Valley and Brownsville’s more than $100 billion border and port economy. The proposed connection would link gateways representing more than $400 billion in annual international commerce and more than 10 major U.S.-Mexico ports of entry between Del Rio and Brownsville.
Texas Department of Transportation Executive Director Marc Williams will deliver the conference keynote address. Shane Getson, MLA and Parliamentary Secretary of Economic Corridors in Alberta, Canada, will also participate in the conference, bringing a Canadian perspective to discussions about the infrastructure and policies needed to strengthen economic corridors.
Alberta takes a nation-building approach to economic corridors, looking beyond provincial borders to opportunities across Canada and international markets. Its approach emphasizes coordination across jurisdictions and sectors to support long-term economic growth and market access.
“Improving the Ports-to-Plains (Future I-27) transportation corridor provides a critical alternative connection between the Economic Corridors of Canada and the Federal Highways (Carreteras Federales) of Mexico,” said Lauren Garduño, President and CEO of Ports-to-Plains Alliance. “The strategic location of this corridor in the mid-western United States improves access to agriculture and energy commodities common to all three countries, enhancing the trading opportunities now and into the future.”
The conference program will also include an inter-municipal Memorandum of Understanding supporting the promotion and development of the Ciudad Acuña–Torreón multimodal highway corridor. Confirmed participants in the signing ceremony from Mexico include Ciudad Acuña Mayor Emilio Alejandro De Hoyos Montemayor, Coahuila Governor Manolo Jiménez Salinas and Coahuila Secretary of Economy Luis Eduardo Olivares Martínez. Additional mayors from across the state of Coahuila will also participate. Coahuila Attorney General Federico Fernández Montañez has been invited to participate.
U.S. participants will include Lubbock Mayor Mark McBrayer, Del Rio Mayor Al Arreola, Val Verde County Judge Lewis Owens, Lubbock County Judge Curtis Parrish, Ports-to-Plains Alliance Chairman and Lubbock Economic Development Alliance President and CEO John Osborne, and Ports-to-Plains Alliance President and CEO Lauren Garduño.
Members of the media are invited to attend and cover the conference at no cost; however, advance registration is required. TxDOT Executive Director Marc Williams will be available for media interviews following his keynote presentation at noon Thursday. Ports-to-Plains Alliance President and CEO Lauren Garduño and Chairman John Osborne will also be available for media interviews during the conference.
Media representatives interested in attending or arranging interviews may contact Joe Kiely at 719-740-2240 or [email protected].
Advance registration closes Friday, Aug. 28. Conference registration, the latest agenda and additional information are available at:
https://www.portstoplains.com/
About the Ports-to-Plains Alliance
The Ports-to-Plains Alliance is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization advocating for a modern transportation corridor that connects communities, businesses and international markets across North America. Working with Heartland Expressway and Theodore Roosevelt Expressway, the Alliance advocates long-term improvements throughout the nine-state corridor to strengthen trade, freight mobility, safety, rural infrastructure and economic opportunity.