Maverick County Memorial International Airport Receives Nearly $500K Grant
Photo Courtesy of Maverick County.
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2024
The Maverick County Memorial International Airport, located at the Maverick County Industrial Park at the Radar Base, received a nearly $500,000 grant from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) on Thursday, August 22, 2024 at a meeting of the Texas Transportation Board of Commissioners in Austin, Texas, announced Maverick County Commissioner Precinct 3 Olga M. Ramos.
Commissioner Ramos stated the near $500,000 grant from TxDOT is to fund the design and development plans for the renovation needed at the Maverick County Memorial International Airport at the Radar Base in northern Maverick County within Precinct 3.
In previous economic development meetings and conferences, businesses, entrepreneurs, and investors have pointed out for several years the urgent need for the Maverick County Memorial International Airport be renovated to attract new investment to Maverick County and support robust economic development within Eagle Pass and Maverick County.
Ramos stated the TxDOT grant for almost $500,000 is a significant step towards renovating the county international airport and attracting more air travel and flights to the growing Maverick County community.
The grant will allow for hiring design experts and engineers to develop the overall plans for renovating the county international airport. The new funding will also make Maverick County eligible for additional funding of up to $6,500,000 (million) from TxDOT to renovate and construct new runways and related airport infrastructure improvements needed to bring it up to standards.
Maverick County has tremendous potential to become a major international airport with commercial air freight companies and passenger travel in the future after the county airport is renovated to meet Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards and regulations. Maverick County plans to do this one step at a time, but this new grant is the first step pivotal to moving forward renovating the county international airport in the near future.
Commissioner Ramos was accompanied by County Judge Ramsey English Cantu at the TxDOT Board of Commissioners meeting in Austin, Texas.
During their visit in Austin, Texas, Ramos and Cantu were able to personally meet with TxDOT Board of Commissioners Steven D. Alvis, Alex Meade, and Alvin New and TxDOT Aviation Director Dan Harmon and Airport Program Manager Daniel Benson. Ramos noted that these TxDOT Commissioners and representatives have been instrumental in obtaining this almost $500,000 grant and recognizing the Maverick County Memorial International Airport’s potential for the expected growth of international trade between the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Commissioner Ramos stated that Maverick County has submitted its Capital Improvement Plan for the county international airport, including 15 projects for the next 15 years. TxDOT usually funds one project per airport per year. Ramos noted Maverick County has already submitted the next capital improvement project for $6.5 million to cover the renovation and construction of the airport runways. She noted Maverick County has been working on these projects for the past three years.
Commissioner Ramos added that “Maverick County’s teamwork was the key to applying and obtaining this significant grant to kickstart the renovation process needed of the Maverick County Memorial International Airport. “Our team at Maverick County is what is moving us all forward. I look forward to many more successful projects with state and federal funding, allowing us to do more with our local tax dollars,” Ramos said.
The renovation of the county international airport to satisfy FAA standards is critical for new opportunities and investments to come to fruition in Maverick County, added Ramos.
Among the new opportunities being eyed are the real estate development of the area surrounding and adjacent to the Maverick County Memorial International Airport into a multi-use real estate development featuring industrial, manufacturing, commercial, retail, and residential projects in northern Maverick County.
With Maverick County receiving a United States Presidential Permit to build and construct a third international bridge under the private ownership of Puerto Verde Holdings, LLC, including a commercial freight bridge and a new railroad bridge known as Puerto Verde Global Trade Bridge and Green Eagle Railroad Bridge and Line, the private investment group led by Puerto Verde Holdings, LLC’s President and CEO Ruben Garibay have quietly been purchasing real properties in Seco Mines, Hopedale, Radar Base, Normandy, and Quemado within Maverick County for future developments.
The renovation of the Maverick County Memorial International Airport to meet FAA standards is the building block necessary for these future real estate and economic development projects to materialize and come to fruition in Maverick County in the near future.
Other key projects needed to be developed are the expansion of the City of Eagle Pass Camino Real Bridge from six to 12 lanes, the construction and operation of the two international bridges known as Puerto Verde Global Trade Bridge and the Green Eagle Railroad Bridge and Line, the completion of Loop 480 construction by TxDOT from U. S. Highway 57 to U. S. Highway 277 North, the construction of the four year university affiliated with Texas State University System, the expansion and construction of the Ports-to-Plains U. S. Interstate IH-27 from Laredo to Eagle Pass to Del Rio to the northern United States, and the availability of plenty of potable water to sustain this growth.
Maverick County has potential to become a major international trade port and airport in the near future depending on these and other projects being successfully completed.
