U.S. General Services Administration
Kika de la Garza LPOE Receives BIL-Funded Lighting Upgrades
Public Buildings Service Region 7’s Project Delivery Division recently installed 128 new LED light fixtures at the Kika de la Garza Land Port of Entry in Pharr, Texas. The team used Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds to upgrade lights in vehicle inspection pits and lights inside the port’s tunnel.
The Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration contacted GSA in January 2023 after having trouble inspecting vehicles at the port because of poor lighting. Project Manager Karl Gibson worked with FMCSA and Veliz Construction, a small business based in El Paso, Texas, to modernize the port’s lighting. Gibson suggested upgrading the existing recessed lights, which were allowing condensation to penetrate inside the fixtures, to wall mounted lights.
Gibson said he researched performance and specification standards for the mounted lights to understand how they compared with the rest of the industry. “It was determined that these lights would meet FMCSA’s mission,” he said. “I recommended setting these lights as a facility standard because as this specialty product evolves into the modern era, so do the FMCSA facilities.”
The new LED lighting is approximately 30 percent more efficient and 50 percent brighter than the older fluorescent lighting. Gibson said that the mounted design would not only modernize the port’s lighting but also help prevent water from entering the fixtures and causing mold contamination.
“FMCSA should remain on the forefront of technology and modernization. I believe the lighting project lifts morale, shows promise and progress, as well as sets the standard for the future,” Gibson said.
The wall mounted lights are the same light fixtures being used at other Region 7 facilities, including Los Indios Port of Entry in Brownsville, Texas, and Del Rio Texas Port of Entry in Del Rio, Texas. The Pharr upgrades were finished on Oct. 17, 2024, making this the very first FMCSA—BIL funded project that Region 7 has completed.
