Eagle Pass City Officials Present Update to Coahuila Governor on Camino Real International Bridge Expansion Project
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2024
City of Eagle Pass, Texas officials, including Mayor Rolando Salinas, Jr., City Manager Homero Balderas, and Eagle Pass International Bridge System General Manager Ronnie Rivera, presented an update on the status of the expansion of Eagle Pass Camino Real International Bridge from six to 12 lanes to the State of Coahuila, Mexico Governor Manolo Jimenez Salinas on Monday, August 26, 2024 in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico.
Currently, the City of Eagle Pass has two projects regarding Camino Real International Bridge, one is the realignment of transportation logistics to the bridge and another is the expansion of the bridge from six lanes to 12 lanes.
The first project concerning the realignment of the transportation logistics to the Camino Real Bridge does not require an amendment to the Presidential Permit, but is in the final stages of receiving approval from the appropriate state authorities such as the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) with construction expected to commence in March or April 2025. Construction of this realignment project is expected to be completed approximately in April 2026.
The second project which includes expansion of the bridge from six to 12 lanes requires the City of Eagle Pass to apply for and receive an amendment to its U. S. Presidential Permit of the bridge. The Eagle Pass City Council this summer approved the hiring of LJA Engineering to assist it with the Presidential Permit Amendment Application and processing its approval through the U. S. Department of State and eventually the White House.
The expansion of Camino Real Bridge from six to 12 lanes has been on the planning stages for several years now on both the Mexican and Eagle Pass sides. In Mexico, the State of Coahuila is the owner of the bridge while the City of Eagle Pass is the owner on the U. S. side. Both entities have to coordinate the expansion of the bridge by obtaining approval from their respective President, federal customs agencies, state and municipal governments.
The State of Coahuila and Mexico have been diligently working on approval and construction of the expansion of the bridge for several years now. As a matter of fact, the State of Coahuila and Mexico are about two weeks from completing the construction of the transportation infrastructure needed for the expansion and expect to receive their Presidential Permit later this month or early September 2024.
Mexican officials are inviting President Manuel Andres Lopez Obrador to personally come to Piedras Negras, Coahuila to inaugurate the completion of the construction of the expansion project in Mexico during late August or early September 2024 before the end of his term of office.
Unlike Mexico that is advanced in its completion of the expansion project of Camino Real Bridge, the City of Eagle Pass is approximately two and a half years behind schedule, causing the State of Coahuila Governor Manolo Jimenez Salinas to request an update from City of Eagle Pass officials concerning the status of their expansion project on Monday, August 26th.
At the August 26th meeting, Mayor Rolando Salinas, Jr. presented an oral report to Governor Manolo Jimenez Salinas that the City of Eagle Pass anticipates completing and submitting its Application for an Amendment to the U. S. Presidential Permit to the Camino Real Bridge expansion project by November 2024 and approval within six months or less. Construction on the expansion of the bridge from six to 12 lanes, once the Presidential Permit amendment is obtained, is expected to commence approximately in January 2028 and take about one and a half to two years to complete.
The addition of six new lanes to the Camino Real Bridge will entail in designing and building a second bridge tower instead of widening the existing six lane structure. In essence, it will have two bridge towers, but will be considered as one bridge.
Governor Manolo Jimenez Salinas thanked Mayor Salinas for his report and encouraged him and the City of Eagle Pass to continue working on both projects as expeditiously as possible.
