The General Services Administration, Public Buildings Service has a requirement for the Design-Build Services for the Bridge of the Americas Land Port of Entry Modernization Project, El Paso, Texas.

The BOTA LPOE was built in 1967. It is located on the international border separating El Paso, TX, and Juarez, Chihuahua, MX. This LPOE connects with the Mexican LPOE of “Córdova” in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, MX. The facility processes privately owned vehicles (POV), pedestrians, and commercial traffic. The bridge leading to the facility is the only toll-free bridge in El Paso, creating extensive traffic at the crossing.

The BOTA LPOE is one of four crossings in El Paso. BOTA is in a populated Urban area of El Paso, TX. It sits on approximately 27 acres with fully developed property surrounded on three sides by an extensive highway system. The site is bordered to the north by E. Paisano Drive/U.S. Highway 62 East, a busy two-way street, U.S. Highway 54/Patriot Highway borders to the east, Delta Drive/Loop 375 borders to the south, and Highway 110 on the northwest side of the Port which is a connector to Interstate Highway 10 and is the primary entry and exit from the Port. Chamizal National Memorial borders the site to the west. The LPOE is landlocked on all four (4) sides of the port. The port processes toll-free inbound and outbound commercial, non-commercial, and pedestrian traffic. As a result, the volume of traffic is heavy with many travelers and commercial vehicles choosing to enter and exit through this facility in lieu of paying a toll. Much of the port facility has reached the end of its’ life cycle. Most of the buildings and infrastructure is operating beyond capacity. Building, fire and life safety codes have changed so much that the facility is generally non-compliant with the most current codes and standards including U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) design standards. Since this facility operates as a toll-free port of entry, an increase in truck and vehicular traffic in the last few years has created significant congestion so that the site is unable to support this increased volume of traffic.

The planned project is to provide a design for the LPOE that will reflect the critical importance of this crossing as a gateway to the United States of America. The design should reflect the openness of the United States and its democratic institutions and should be a compelling piece of architecture which is also, a source of community pride. Design will also need to achieve the Interim IRA Low Embodied Carbon Materials Requirements and Interim IRA LEC Material Requirements.

This project will provide the design and construction of a new LPOE to replace the existing port. The current LPOE is a full-service port that inspects privately owned and commercial vehicles and pedestrians. It is currently operating from outdated, deteriorating facilities that do not adequately meet the functional needs of CBP. The new construction project will correct port deficiencies and modernize its facility to accommodate the increasing traffic. The current LPOE will be required to stay in continuous operation during construction. The design-build contractor will be required to phase the construction.

The project construction components include construction of an administration building to include an expanded pedestrian inspection area; primary and secondary passenger vehicle inspection facilities; outside vehicle parking expansion; seized vehicle processing area; a kennel; export cargo booths; and, canopy structure, office building and new paving for Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), and the potential of commercial primary and exit booths; a cargo building and dock.