Anzalduas Bridge set to open Tuesday

NEAR GRANJENO — Everything is ready for the opening of the first new U.S.-Mexico bridge in the past 10 years.

The four lanes of the Anzalduas International Bridge are set to open 6 a.m. Tuesday to tourist vehicles and buses. The bridge connects to a ring road on the Mexican side that will link travelers to the Reynosa-Monterrey highway, allowing them to avoid the traffic of downtown Reynosa.

"This will save you around 20 to 30 minutes on your way to Monterrey," said Carlos Garza, chairman of the bridge board for the U.S. side.

Local authorities on both sides of the border are pleased the bridge is opening in time to accommodate Christmas shoppers coming from Mexico to shop in the U.S. and people traveling from the United States for holiday visits with family in Mexico.

McAllen, Hidalgo and Mission teamed up to build the U.S. portion of the bridge. Mission is sharing 2 percent of the revenues with Granjeno.

Workers on the Mexican side were still installing signs Thursday, but the U.S. side has been ready for a while.

Tuesday’s start of bridge operations will be a so-called soft opening — officials hope the presidents of both nations will attend a grand opening early next year.

Reynosa Mayor Oscar Luebbert plans to be the first Mexican crossing over the bridge into the U.S.

Mexico has its customs personnel ready to man the border crossing. The Mexican army will provide security, just as it does for all of the nation’s international bridges, said Jorge Fernando Boy Espinosa, customs administrator for Reynosa’s three land ports of entry.

The bridge initially will accommodate only non-commercial traffic. Commercial traffic is prohibited on the span until 2015, or until the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge starts receiving 15,000 northbound commercial vehicles per week, in accordance with the agreement the two countries signed in 1999.

The Pharr bridge is operating at 60 percent of its capacity right now, which is down from last year.

Officials expect 4,000-6,000 vehicles per day on the Anzalduas bridge, which would reduce the transit time at the Hidalgo-Reynosa bridge by 20-30 percent, Boy Espinosa said.

The toll on the Mexican side will be 28 pesos (about $2.16). That’s 3 pesos more than at the other two Reynosa bridges, where the toll on the Mexican side is about $1.95.

The Anzalduas crossing has been 17 years in the making.

"The bridge itself is a good business over time — not at the beginning, but over time it is," said Garza, the chairman of the bridge board for the U.S. side. "The increase of commerce for Hidalgo County is good for everybody. Employment is enhanced."

"Our competition is not within the county," Garza said. "Our competition is San Antonio, Laredo or Houston."