ARIZONA & MEXICO

Two other Mexico Federal roads have some bearing on the Arizona/Mexico trading relationship:
Mexico 2/2D begins in Tijuana and goes east to Yuma then southeast before curving back up to Agua
Prieta which is across the border from Douglas, Arizona; From Agua Prieta Mexico 2 goes to Ciudad
Juarez/El Paso. At various points along Mexico 2 there are connections across the border including
Mexicali (where Arizona-based Honeywell Aerospace has significant R&D and manufacturing
operations), San Luis, which is the sister/twin city to Yuma, Arizona, and Nogales via an intersection with
Mexico 15.
The open question is whether the improved connection from California to Texas on the Mexican side
will improve industrial capabilities in Mexico and perhaps have positive effects on the Arizona border
communities. So far, anecdotal evidence such as the relocation of Honeywell functions from Phoenix
to Mexicali (and Ciudad Juarez) does not support this possibility, but there are efforts from the Arizona
communities of Douglas and Yuma to work with their Mexican counterparts and bring more
manufacturing to the border.
Figure 1: Mexico’s Road Network
Source: PWC 2014
The other recent development is the completion of the east/west corridor Mexico 40/40D that links
Mazatlán to Monterrey and its direct connection to Laredo. As we noted above a significant portion of
the trade in Nogales is seasonal fresh vegetables from Sinaloa, which previously benefitted from
entering into the high-speed U.S. network as quickly as possible. With the completion of 40/40D
Sinaloa’s produce may be able to reach Eastern and Midwestern markets as quickly as through Nogales.
Thus, the recent upgrading of the Mariposa port in Nogales is crucial to maintaining Arizona
competitiveness, as is proper staffing of the Port of Entry. The proposed upgrade to Arizona 189 on the
U.S. side and the extension of the proposed I-11 to the border would also be helpful in this regard.
APRIL 2016 • ARIZONA TOWN HALL • ARIZONA & MEXICO • 36