HARLINGEN, Texas (Border Report) — President Donald Trump has approved expanding a vehicular and pedestrian international bridge connecting Eagle Pass, Texas, with Piedras Negras, Mexico.
Trump has authorized building a new six-lane span next to the existing Camino Real International Bridge — also known as Bridge II — as part of a fast-track process that is available only to international bridges in select South Texas counties.
“This approval is great news for South Texas,” said U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. “The expansion of the Camino Real International Bridge in Eagle Pass will help modernize the bridge’s infrastructure and ultimately increase the port’s capacity.”
Cornyn had written to Trump in November asking for the expansion, saying trade in Eagle Pass increased over 9% in 2023 with two-way trade totaling over $37 billion — making it the fourth-largest commercial crossing in Texas.
Friday’s announcement came after the president earlier this month approved building a futuristic international freight corridor bridge connecting Laredo, Texas, to the Mexican state of Nuevo León.
The elevated and automated bridge is to be located near the Laredo-Colombia Solidarity International Bridge and is part of a fast-track bridge permitting process that Congress has approved for three South Texas counties: Webb, Cameron and Maverick.
The expedited approval process, has, so far, resulted in presidential approval for the building of new international bridges in Laredo, and Brownsville, Texas, as well as the expansion of the Laredo-Colombia Solidarity International Bridge, World Trade Bridge, in Laredo, and now the Colombia-Solidarity Bridge, also called Bridge II, in Eagle Pass.
Sandra Sanchez can be reached at SSanchez@BorderReport.com.