Third International Bridge Will Help Economy

Bridge Will Bring New Business and More Jobs to Our Region

The Anzalduas International Bridge is set to open June 2009. This will be the third international bridge in the McAllen MSA to connect the United States with Mexico. This bridge will have two southbound and northbound lanes and a pedestrian crossing and will stretch 2.7 miles across the Rio Grande River. It will connect at a loop road to the Texas Farm-to-Market Roads 494 and 1016 near Granjeno and connect the South McAllen and Mission International trade areas to the west end of Reynosa where many maquiladoras and other cross-border businesses are located.

The Presidential permit for the bridge states that trucks can cross when northbound commercial trucks on the existing commercial crossing reach 15,000 weekly or the year 2015, whichever comes first. Support from cities, counties, Regional Mobility Authority (RMA), Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) and economic development corporations is being solicited for the Free and Secure Trade (FAST) program to be operational at the bridge before the required weekly commercial truck crossing on the existing crossing occurs. The FAST program allows U.S. – Mexico partnering importers expedited release for qualifying commercial shipments, and if it is implemented then only trucks that are members of FAST will be allowed to use the bridge until the previous mentioned provisions are met. With the completion of the bridge, hundreds of jobs will be created and the bridge will help facilitate just-in-time delivery, allowing companies to keep inventory costs down, progress trade and it will be the most efficient way for business traffic from northern Mexico to reach the United States.

Keith Patridge, President and CEO of McAllen Economic Development Corporation, comments, “The March report states that the bridge is 34% complete, which is right on schedule.” Patridge continues, “We look forward to the completion of the bridge and once it is operational, it promises to offer a number of competitive advantages to companies looking to ship parts or finished goods internationally, with greater speed to market and a more efficient shipping route.”