The Gateway to the Americas International Bridge is one of four vehicular international bridges located in the cities of

Laredo, Texas Laredo ( ; ) is a city in and the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Laredo has the distinction of flying seven flags (the flag of t ...

, and

Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas Nuevo Laredo () is a city in the Municipality of Nuevo Laredo in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. The city lies on the banks of the Rio Grande, across from Laredo, United States. The 2010 census population of the city was 373,725. Nuevo Lare ...

, that connect the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

over the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...

(Río Bravo). It is owned and operated by the City of Laredo and the

Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes The Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (''Secretaría de Infraestructura, Comunicaciones y Transportes'', SICT) of Mexico is the national federal entity that regulates commercial road traffic and broadcasting. Its he ...

(Mexico's federal Secretariat of Communication and Transportation). It is also known as Laredo International Bridge 1.

Description

The Gateway to the Americas International Bridge is a four-lane bridge with 2 pedestrian walkways and is long and wide. The bridge is also known as the Convent Street Bridge, Laredo International Bridge, Bridge Number One, Old Bridge, Laredo-Nuevo Laredo Bridge 1, Puente Nuevo Laredo, Puente Laredo I, and Puente Viejo.TxDOT Transportation Planning; Border Crossings
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Location

This bridge is located in the San Agustin

Historical District A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

Downtown Laredo Downtown Laredo is the second main business district in Laredo, Texas. Downtown Laredo is the starting point for Interstate Highway 35 and State Highway 359. It is home to all of Laredo's high-rise buildings. Laredo's and Webb County's main ...

on the United States Side and on the northern terminus of

Mexican Federal Highway 85 Federal Highway 85 (''Carretera Federal 85'') connects Mexico City with the Mexico–United States border at Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas. Highway 85 runs through Monterrey, Nuevo León; Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas; Ciudad Valles, San Luis Potos� ...

in downtown Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas. It operates 24 hours a day for pedestrian traffic from and to Mexico. Renovations at the bridge lasting from April 2016 to October 2017 are finished and vehicular transit is resumed.

Border crossing

The Laredo Convent Avenue Port of Entry is located at the Gateway to the Americas International Bridge. Since 1889, a bridge connected Laredo, Texas with Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas at this location. For many years, this was the only crossing for vehicular and pedestrian traffic between the two cities. The U.S. Inspection Station building that was built in 1943 was listed on the U.S.

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1992. As of 2018, all vehicular crossing from Mexico to the U.S. is now only for

SENTRI The Secure Electronic Network for Travelers Rapid Inspection (SENTRI) provides expedited U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) processing, at the U.S.-Mexico border, of pre-approved travelers considered low-risk. Voluntarily applicants must ...

holders only. All other vehicles have to cross through the

Juárez–Lincoln International Bridge The Juárez–Lincoln International Bridge (also known as Laredo International Bridge 2) is one of four vehicular international bridges located in the cities of Laredo, Texas, and Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, that connect the United States and M ...

or through the

Laredo–Colombia Solidarity International Bridge The Laredo–Colombia Solidarity International Bridge is one of four vehicular international bridges located on the U.S.-Mexico border in the city of Laredo, Texas; it connects Laredo over the Rio Grande (Rio Bravo) with Colombia in Anáhuac ...

History

The original bridge was constructed in the 1880s in a

through truss A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...

design, the original Laredo International Foot Bridge was destroyed April 28, 1905 by a

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

. It was repaired and again totally destroyed by flood on September 3, 1932. The city of Laredo and the Mexican government rebuilt the bridge to accommodate vehicles in 1932, surviving 22 years before it was destroyed again by flood in 1954. The current bridge was constructed in 1954 and operational in 1956, has survived flooding with no damage and remains operational. The city of Laredo purchased the American side of the international bridge for $695,000 in 1946 from a private owner.

References

External links

Gateway to the Americas International Bridge Webcam (American Side)

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070529170740/http://www.cityoflaredo.com/bridgesys/Reports/TrafficDist.htm Statistical Data {{Nuevo Laredo International bridges in Laredo, Texas International bridges in Tamaulipas Toll bridges in Texas Nuevo Laredo Bridges completed in 1933 Bridges completed in 1954 Road bridges in Texas Toll bridges in Mexico Box girder bridges in the United States 1954 establishments in Texas 1954 establishments in Mexico