The Veterans International Bridge at Los Tomates is one of three international bridges that span the Mexico – United States border between the cities of Brownsville, Texas

Brownsville, Texas

Brownsville is a city in the southernmost tip of the state of Texas, in the United States. It is located on the northern bank of the Rio Grande, directly north and across the border from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Brownsville is the 16th largest city in the state of Texas with a population of...

, and Matamoros, Tamaulipas

Matamoros, Tamaulipas

Matamoros, officially known as Heroica Matamoros, is a city in the northeastern part of Tamaulipas, in the country of Mexico. It is located on the southern bank of the Rio Grande, directly across the border from Brownsville, Texas, in the United States. Matamoros is the second largest and second...

. It is also known as simply as the Veterans Bridge, the Los Tomates Bridge, or on the Mexico side as the Puente Internacional Ignacio Zaragoza

Ignacio Zaragoza

Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín was a general in the Mexican army, best known for defeating invading French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862 ....

. The bridge is owned and operated by Cameron County

Cameron County, Texas

Cameron County is the southernmost county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2010, its population was 406,220. Its county seat is Brownsville. Cameron was founded in 1848...

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Description

Opened in 1999, the Veterans International Bridge is presently the newest of the three bridges in the Brownsville area. The roadway consists of four lanes and a truck lane. The bridge also has sidewalks on both sides to accommodate pedestrian traffic. The bridge operates daily from 6 a.m. to midnight.

On the Brownsville side, the bridge connects to the southern terminus of the freeway. On the Matamoros side, it connects to the northern terminus of Mexican Federal Highway 101

Mexican Federal Highway 101

Mexican Federal Highway 101 connects Matamoros, Tamaulipas, to Mexican Federal Highway 80 in San Luis Potosí.It passes through Victoria, the capital of Tamaulipas, and Tula. The route traverses the Sierra Madre Oriental cordillera....

/180

Mexican Federal Highway 180

Mexican Federal Highway 180 is a Mexican Federal Highway that follows Mexico's Gulf and Caribbean Coast from the Mexico-U.S. border at Brownsville, Texas, into Matamoros, Tamaulipas, to the resort city of Cancún, Quintana Roo, in the Yucatán Peninsula....

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As of September 2, 2010, the toll for bicycles and pedestrians is ($12 MXN). The toll for cars, pick-up trucks, and motorcycles is ($48 MXN). The toll for trucks begins at ($124 MXN) for those with two-axles. In the fiscal year ending in September 2010, the bridge saw 1,607,271 crossings, approximately double that of the Los Indios Bridge

Free Trade International Bridge

The Free Trade International Bridge is an international bridge which crosses the Rio Grande connecting the United States-Mexico border cities of Los Indios, Texas and Matamoros, Tamaulipas...

 but half of the number at the Gateway International Bridge

Gateway International Bridge

Gateway International Bridge is one of three international bridges that cross the U.S.-Mexico border between the cities of Brownsville, Texas, and Matamoros, Tamaulipas. It is owned and operated by Cameron County. Over the past century, it has developed the nickname of "The New Bridge" when the...

. This corresponded to a toll revenue in excess of US$6.6 million.

History

A key component of an initiative to construct the new Veterans International Bridge at Los Tomates was the careful coordination among U.S. and Mexican local, state, and federal agencies. The U.S. 77/83 Los Tomates Expressway Extension project linking Brownsville, Texas, with Matamoros, Mexico, included new, elevated main lanes; construction of frontage roads; and improvements to the International Boulevard intersection. Other significant aspects of the project were the relocation and construction of a new 47 acre (19-hectare) park and the dedication of a new 175 acre (71-hectare) wildlife preserve. With the completion of the bridge and 10 other projects, international trucking can now bypass the heavily congested downtown corridors of Brownsville and Matamoros.

Design and engineering

Design and Project management were completed by Maverick Engineering, Inc. - Design and project management of the Veterans’ International Bridge in-bound traffic lane expansion. The scope of the project included the addition of one auto lane for fast access and several lanes for industrial traffic growth. One of these lanes was for the FAST processing of inbound NAFTA freight. The bridge connects with Highway U.S. 77/83 and is a major transit route for freight bound for areas across the United States.