Laredo, Texas.- After several years of waiting, the United States government granted approval to the request of this city of Laredo del presidential permission for the expansion of the World Trade Bridge, -World Trade Bridge-the most important in the country.
Just a few months ago, federal, state and municipal authorities from both Mexico and the United States met to manage the expediting of said permits through the National Defense Authorization Law for fiscal year 2024. In this way, Congressman Henry Cuellar and Senator Ted Cruz worked together to promote rapid approval in their country and after a wait that has lasted several years, this is finally a reality.
The expansion of World Trade Bridge -as it is known in the US- will be essential to alleviate the current traffic congestion, and reduce waiting times so that the trade flow between both countries is more efficient, which in turn will consolidate the binational economy.
The expansion project raises the construction of 10 additional lanesthe city of Laredo in cooperation with the Texas Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration is also proposing the construction of an additional eight-lane bridge for northbound traffic, parallel to the current eight-lane bridge, and two more lanes for southbound traffic on the north side of the existing bridge.
The estimated cost of this expansion will be $24. 1 million dollars as far as the American side is concerned. On the Mexican side, the Nuevo Laredo III Bridge Trust, it is known, has the resources for its corresponding part of this project.
Given this event, the mayor of Laredo celebrated the authorization, as it will allow binational trade to grow.
“The approval of President Biden's expansion of the World Trade Bridge, further establishes our status as the number one port of entry in the United States and as a global center for international trade. “I look forward to meeting with the President tonight and tomorrow, as I am en route to Washington DC, and to personally thank him for his support, and to continue our conversation about the importance of binational collaboration to address our regional goals and challenges,” he pointed out.
Regularly to obtain presidential authorization, an environmental review was required which often took years to complete, however, with the National Defense Authorization Act promoted by legislators Cuellar and Cruz in 2023, conditional permits could be issued for projects while the environmental reviews required under the Environmental Policy Act are carried out. National (NEPA).
Currently, the World Trade Bridge is the main port of entry for the United States, accounting for 6.3 percent of total trade with the world, mainly with Mexico.
