9th Circuit Court Okay Mexican Trucks On US Highways

Mexican trucks could be rolling down the Borman Expressway in a few days now that a court has denied an appeal by opponents of a US government free trade plan to allow Mexican trucks into the United States.

The 9th Circuit Court of appeals rejected a challenge to a US DOT plan to allow Mexican trucks free access to US interstates as part of a pilot program.

The Borman Expressway in Northwest Indiana -- I-80 & I-94 -- could be one of the popular Mexico to Canada routes the newly admitted Mexican trucks might take while plying international free trade.

Writes John Crawley of Reuters:

The Bush administration can proceed with a plan to open the U.S. border to long haul Mexican trucks as early as next week after an appeals court rejected a bid by labor, consumer and environmental interests to block the initiative.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco late on Friday denied an emergency petition sought by the Teamsters union, the Sierra Club and consumer group Public Citizen to halt the start of a one-year pilot program that was approved by Congress after years of legal and political wrangling.

More links:

Mexican Trucks Could Hit US Interstates This Weekend

I-94 Plans Seek Mexico To Canada Superhighway

Borman Expressway Department of Transportation I-80 I-94 Mexican trucks NAFTA superhighway Northwest Indiana pilot program trucks