Houston-based Green Corridors will start building prototypes for its elevated freight guideway across the Rio Grande at Laredo, Texas, within six months. The project, known as Project Pegasi, received presidential approval in June and promises to ease congestion at the busiest U.S. truck border crossing. CEO Mitch Carlson outlined the timeline in an exclusive interview with Transport Topics, emphasizing designs refined through three years of digital twin modeling.
Technical Foundations and Testing Ahead
Project Pegasi centers on automated steel shuttles powered by diesel hybrid propulsion, operating in platoons along the guideway like a conveyor belt. These shuttles have reached NASA's Technology Readiness Level 4 and will advance to Level 7 soon, with Version 1 manufacturing and testing slated for 2026. A 2-mile test track featuring an S-curve will come online by August or September that year, allowing validation before full deployment.
Addressing Border Logistics Challenges
Laredo handles the heaviest truck traffic among four key Texas-Mexico freight routes, including Brownsville, Eagle Pass, and El Paso, where delays, fraud, theft, and emissions plague operations. The shuttles enable 24-hour service, with customs scanning in Mexico for predictable U.S. handoffs, keeping drivers on their side of the border to sidestep visa issues. Once loaded, containers stay sealed, cutting theft risks, while the system reduces market inefficiencies and transportation emissions, as Carlson described.
Financing, Scale, and Next Steps
Estimated at $6 billion to $10 billion, the project draws funding from debt, equity, and infrastructure investors, with manufacturing in Texas or Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Green Corridors plans 2,500 shuttles for a four- to five-hour Monterrey-to-Laredo run, plus inland terminals in greenfield sites near both cities and potential truck stops. The firm must fund U.S. Customs and Border Protection facilities at no public cost and nears full Mexican permits, alongside apps for truckers and patents for loading processes.
