RIO GRANDE CITY, Texas - Every time Congressman Henry Cuellar visits Rio Grande City he is struck by the growth that is occurring.
“You can see the momentum. I mean, look at the stores that we have now, look at the coffee shops, look at the restaurants, the national restaurants we have over here,” Cuellar said, in an exclusive interview with the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service.
In fact, said Cuellar, there is growth happening in Starr County as a whole. He referenced the widening of Expressway 83 from Starr County to Zapata County, noting there are now two lanes in each direction. He said it will eventually be called Highway 2.
The interview took place while Cuellar was in Rio Grande City to announce a $10.3 million grant to improve water infrastructure in Starr County colonias.
The Guardian also interviewed Starr County Judge Eloy Vera. Vera said Cuellar has helped his county tremendously.
“He (Cuellar) has brought in millions and millions of dollars into our county for different things. For water, transportation, childcare for our universities and colleges. I mean it just a an array of things that he has helped Starr County with. And we're extremely thankful for him. And I think that's one of the reasons that Starr County has been able to prosper as much as it has these past few years.”
Asked about the growth of Rio Grande City, Vera said: “All you have to do is drive around, you know, the shopping center on the east side of Rio Grande. I mean, we have a lot of establishments that weren’t here a couple of years ago.”Vera said one of the biggest accomplishments for Starr County will be the building of a medical facility that will go up next to the county hospital.
“It's going to have specialty clinics, it's going to have you know a lot of different services, medical services,” Vera said.
“But to me probably the most important and for our community is that we're going to have residency for doctors. What we're hoping is that some of the doctors that will do their residency here will stay here in Starr County because we are terribly underserved medically. Things are looking really bright for Starr County.”
Go to www.riograndeguardian.com to read the latest border news stories and watch the latest news videos.
