The World Trade International Bridge is one of four 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 th ...

, and Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, 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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

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 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 4.

History

The World Trade International Bridge's construction started on September 30, 1998, and the bridge was completed on April 15, 2000. The international bridge was named in honor of a free World Trade market, because international trade is one of the key components to the Laredo / Nuevo Laredo economies. The World Trade International Bridge was built to alleviate traffic congestion in

Interstate 35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican borde ...

south through Laredo, Texas since most commercial traffic could only cross through the one lane dedicated to commercial vehicles at Juarez-Lincoln International Bridge or the further north Colombia-Solidarity International Bridge in

Nuevo León Nuevo León () is a state in the northeast region of Mexico. The state was named after the New Kingdom of León, an administrative territory from the Viceroyalty of New Spain, itself was named after the historic Spanish Kingdom of León. Wit ...

Description

The World Trade International Bridge is a fourteen-lane bridge. The bridge is long and wide. The international bridge is for commercial traffic only. The bridge is also known as Laredo North, Bridge 4, Laredo IV, Puente Internacional Nuevo Laredo III and Puente del Comercio Mundial Nuevo Laredo III.
The World Trade International Bridge is Nuevo Laredo's third international bridge and Laredo's fourth since Laredo's third ( Laredo International Bridge 3) is located at the Nuevo León/Texas border.

Plans

The City of Laredo was talking to the Mexican Government about expanding the World Trade International Bridge by adding nine more lanes by 2012, in order to cut down delays of the movement of goods.

Location

This bridge is located at the western termini of

Interstate 69W Interstate 69W (I-69W) is a relatively short north–south Interstate Highway running through South Texas in the United States. The freeway begins northeast of the middle of World Trade International Bridge in Laredo and ends at I-35. In ...

, U.S. Route 59, and Loop 20 in Laredo, Texas. It is also in north Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas at the

Mexican Federal Highway 85D Carretera Federal 85D is the designation for toll highways ('' autopistas'') paralleling Federal Highway 85. Two roads are designated Highway 85D, one from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, to Monterrey, Nuevo León, known as Autopista Monterrey– ...

's northern terminus.

Border crossing

The Laredo World Trade Port of Entry was built in 2000 in an effort to relieve traffic from the congested downtown Laredo bridges. All of Laredo's cross-border commercial vehicle traffic uses this Port of Entry, as the other Laredo bridges prohibit trucks. Passenger vehicles and pedestrians are not permitted to use this crossing.

References

External links

World Trade International Bridge Webcam (American Side)

Expansion of the World Trade International Bridge

{{Nuevo Laredo International bridges in Laredo, Texas International bridges in Tamaulipas Toll bridges in Texas Tolled sections of Interstate Highways Nuevo Laredo Road bridges in Texas Toll bridges in Mexico Interstate 69 U.S. Route 59 Bridges on the Interstate Highway System Bridges of the United States Numbered Highway System Box girder bridges in the United States Bridges completed in 2000 2000 establishments in Mexico 2000 establishments in Texas