This week, Midland Mayor Lori Blong took to social media to give praise to the U.S. Senate's unanimous approval of Ted Cruz's (R-TX) bipartisan 27 (I-27) Numbering Act of 2023 to formally name the Ports-to-Plains Corridor through Texas and New Mexico as Interstate 27. Blong said in an Aug. 2 Facebook post that the portion of I-27 that runs between Midland and Odessa will be designated as I-27 West under the legislation.
"This marks a significant moment in our city's history and sets the stage for a promising future," Midland Mayor Lori Blong in a recent Facebook post.
Blong added in the post that the bill initially called for the section to be reclassified as I-227 and primary traffic to go through Big Spring, which she asserted “would have been a huge loss for our community and region.”
“So I reached out to other leaders in our community to make sure this did not happen,” the mayor said. “Midland and Odessa leadership answered my call and rallied together to ensure our section of the Interstate remains a part of I-27.”
According to a press release issued by Cruz’s office on August 1, the junior senator was joined in sponsorship of the measure by U.S. Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), and Ben Ray Luján. The release said that Texas U.S. Reps. Jodey Arrington (R), Henry Cuellar (D), August Pfluger (R), and Ronny Jackson (R) introduced similar legislation in the lower chamber of Congress.
“Naming Ports-to-Plains as Interstate 27, combined with expediting the permitting of new bridges along the Texas-Mexico border, will bring more jobs to our state, fix broken supply chains, and spur faster economic growth for both our state and country,” Cruz said in the release.
In her Facebook post, Blong thanked Cruz, Cornyn, Pfluger, and Arrington for their efforts to ensure the Permian Basin was recognized as a primary route.