Cintra-Zachry, the Spanish-American joint venture that TxDOT chose in late 2004 to develop the Trans-Texas Corridor highway under a Comprehensive Development Agreement, has also been granted a design-build contract to develop a freight rail line that will share the same right-of-way. Cintra-Zachry would own the rail system and charge usage fees to any freight line that used its rails.

Ric Williamson, Texas Transportation Commissioner, made the announcement in a press conference Wednesday, where representatives of the press expressed concern about foreign ownership of U.S. infrastructure and use of illegal immigrants in construction. Zachry Construction Co. is a privately-owned highway and industrial builder headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. Zachry has been in business for 80 year and employs over 11,000 people. Their projects circle the globe.

Cintra-Zachry has already committed $6 billion to the construction of the Oklahoma-to-Mexico portion of the Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC-35) toll road that will run from Laredo to north of the Dallas/Fort Worth area where it will link into the Interstate system, providing access to the rest of the nation. The railroad project will add another $5 billion to Cintra-Zachry's commitment. Laredo is the busiest U.S./Mexico border crossing outside of California.

According to commission member Ted Houghton, the largest U.S. retailers now dictate the traffic routes of freight. Wal-Mart is at the top of this list and most are scheduling shipments to arrive at Pacific rim ports. This direct freight line from Laredo to DFW could take 18,000 18-wheelers per day off of Interstate 35 by placing shipping containers on rail cars. With the growth of the port of Topolobampo in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, the amount of freight crossing northern Mexico and arriving at Texas border crossings will only grow in the future. Cintra-Zachry has suggested that the line would attract rail traffic away from urban areas, and that there would be no "at-grade" crossings. Construction is expected to begin in two to three years.

Members of the Cintra Concesiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte, S.A. team include Cintra; Zachry Construction Corporation; Ferrovial-Agromán; Earth Tech, Inc.; PriceWaterhouseCooper; JP Morgan Securities; Bracewell & Patterson; Pate Engineers, Inc.; Aguirre & Fields LP; Rodriguez Transportation Group; OTHON, Inc.; Railroad Industries Incorporated; Amey; Mercator; Public Resources Advisory Group; Southwestern Capital Markets; National Corporate Network; and HRM Consultants.