Funds secured to restore historic international suspension bridge in South Texas

McALLEN, Texas ( Border Report ) — A historic international suspension bridge that hasn’t been used for decades has gotten federal and state funding for renovations so it can once again facilitate trade and travel.

Texas state Sen. Judith Zaffirini this week announced that the Texas Transportation Commission has approved a nearly $1.7 million low-interest loan with Starr County for the restoration of the Roma-Ciudad Miguel Aleman International Suspension Bridge, which links the South Texas town of Roma with Miguel Aleman, Mexico

The loan comes after U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, in February announced $385,000 in federal grant funding through the North American Development Bank to “assess the modernization” of the bridge.

“The restoration of the Roma-Miguel Aleman Suspension Bridge is an endeavor that will bring new life to this national historic landmark and will positively impact our local economy on multiple fronts,” Roma Mayor Jaime Escobar Jr., said when the federal funds were announced.

Built in 1928, the suspension bridge spans the Rio Grande and facilitated trade and cross-border commerce between Roma and Ciudad Miguel Aleman until it was decommissioned in 1979 when it fell into disrepair. It has been listed in the National Register of Historic Places since 1984, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers .

Zaffirini, a Democrat from Laredo whose district spans east to Starr County, calls the bridge “a historical treasure.”

It’s a “nearly century-old symbol of bi-national unity that has enriched communities on both sides of the border,” she said in a statement.

“As a testament to the bridge’s cross-border symbolic significance, residents and local leaders on both sides of the Rio Grande have fought for years to preserve this historic landmark and restore it to its former glory,” Zaffirini said. “I am so grateful for their efforts in safeguarding this symbol of our shared aspirations.”

Cuellar says the remodeling of the suspension bridge will “improve quality of life and ensure Roma and Starr County have the tools to continue growing.”

In Fiscal Year 2022, Cuellar, who is on the House Appropriations Committee and represents Starr County, helped to secure $5 million in federal funds to study restoration of the suspension bridge, something leaders in South Texas have been trying to do for over a decade.

“It’s going to happen this time because we got NADBank that’s going to help us make sure that both the U.S. and the Mexican side … requirements are met,” Cuellar said during a Feb. 2 ceremony held in Roma. “I feel very confident that we will get this done this time.”

Sam Vale, president of the nearby Starr-Camargo Bridge Company, and a member of the Border Trade Alliance, grew up in Starr County and tells Border Report that the old suspension bridge is an important part of the region’s history.

Final plans for the bridge’s renovation aren’t clear, but there is talk that the old suspension bridge could become a pedestrian bridge, since it is located next to the current vehicular international bridge, Vale said.

He says the old suspension bridge at one time was called the “San Pedro Bridge” because the Mexican town of Miguel Aleman had, at the time, been called San Pedro.

A photo of the suspension bridge on the Preservation Texas website shows the steel structure and grassy trail leading to the now-dilapidated bridge.

But at one time, Vale said, it was grand.

“The bridge was actually the symbol of the City of Roma,” Vale told Border Report on Tuesday.

“We kept telling the state officials and congressmen and they kept trying to get it done and said something would happen with funding and so forth, but they got it,” Vale said. “They’re really going to refurbish that bridge, and this will be huge because it’s such a historic bridge.”

The bridge is the only of the original international suspension bridges built in the lower Rio Grande Valley that is still standing, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers.

The town of Miguel Aleman is a notorious stronghold for drug cartels that have been fighting for years for control of the northern Mexican state of Tamaulipas.

Sandra Sanchez can be reached at SSanchez@BorderReport.com.

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