Debunking the mythical NAFTA Superhighway.

Debunking the mythical NAFTA Superhighway.

Posted on Jun 12, 2008 in NAFTA, Opinions by PMC 2 Comments

I came across the blog of a DISGRUNTLED REPUBLICAN who has written an excellent article debunking the mythical NAFTA Superhighway.

We all know it makes for good late night radio, giving the loony toons a sense of worth and something else to worry about, and of course, provides the likes of Lou Dobbs and others, fodder to spread their agenda of fear amongst the masses. But this blogger, named Rod Williams, has put it all into perspective.

Mr Williams makes several good points in his article.

I never took it seriously and dismissed it as mere fantasy from the tinfoil hat crowd. I reasoned that if a new roadway connecting Mexico, the US and Canada was being build to facilitate increased trade between our nations, that that would probably be a good thing and was nothing to get upset about.

It seemed that the same people who were alarmed about the NAFTA super highway were the same ones who want us to return to the gold standard, abolish the Federal Reserve and are always worry about the Council of Foreign Relations, the Bilderbergs, and the Illuminati. I was not alarmed. The John Birch Society folks and the other paranoid super patriots are generally harmless, good intentioned, conservative folks who just kind of went off the deep end on certain issues. I don’t get too worked up about them. Then I noticed that the kooky left, the folks who believe 911 was an inside job, started talking about the NAFTA highway also. It is amazing how often the kooky right and the kooky left share a lot of the same concerns.

All good points being made.

According to opponents of this NAFTA Superhighway, a secret organization run by shadowy government figures is in cahoots with foreign corporations who are determined to undermine American sovereignty. This group is supposedly building a ten-lane highway the width of several football fields, with freight and rail lines and oil and natural gas pipelines and electric power lines running alongside the roadway. It will run from deep in Mexico all the way into Canada with feeder roads connected to it throughout. That is not the extent of what they have planned however. This superhighway is just part of a bigger plot to form a North American Union with a single currency and open borders. The North American Union would be similar to the European Union. The organization that it putting this all together is something called the “Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America,” or the SPP.
The SPP does exist but it looks like just another little agency with a small bureaucracy. The purpose of the SPP is to facilitate increased security and prosperity among the US, Canada and Mexico. Other than maybe wasting a little money it appears nothing to be too concerned about.

Another entity that is part of this plot to build this roadway and take away our sovereignty is the America’s SuperCorridor Organization (NASCO), which is a partnership of public and private entities. The map you see is their map but it is not showing a new highway at all, but shows the location of existing interstates. NASCO had been referring to these existing highways for years as the “NAFTA Superhighway,” They advocate improvements and promotion of this corridor. You can think of NASCO as a kind of regional Chamber of Commerce.

We hear this garbage from the “lunatic fringe” practically every night, don’t we? Mr Williams goes on to mention the Trans Texas Corridor and on this point, he drops the ball a little because of recent developments.

The Texas legislature has approved the development of a big ten-lane limited access toll road called will Trans Texas Corridor, which would parallel I-35 and stretch from the Mexican border to Oklahoma. I am not so sure what is so sinister about that. It may be a bad idea, but the elected representatives of the people of Texas think it is good idea, so who am I to say they are wrong. Quite frankly, I like the concept of funding new roadways by toll revenue.

According to breaking news around Texas concerning the Trans Texas Corridor major changes to the plan have been agreed to making it a win win situation for all parties involved.

The revised plan call for the TTC to be built using existing highways, in this case, US 59 from Laredo to Texarkana Texas. Much of this highway is already 4 to 6 lanes wide. There will be NO TOLLING on existing roadways.

Mario Medina, TxDOT Laredo District engineer, said the department hopes in the next five to 10 years to have interchanges and overpasses at all major intersections of Loop 20. The outer loop is in the preliminary planning stages, Medina said, and a timeline for completion has not been determined. As for the superhighway, he said, construction on parts of it could begin in 13 to 15 years, although the corridor is planned to address transportation needs 50 years from now.

“As freight needs become a bigger issue down here … this could provide options for folks that use Interstate 35,” Medina said.

How about that? A logical common sense approach to the issue. And another good example about how opponents of progress will stoop to any level, including spreading lies, fear and hatred to get their point across to the public. sort of reminds you of the debate over the Cross Border Truck Program doesn’t it? Same methods, different issue.

Tags: features, NAFTA