South Texas mayor, Mexican officials sign agreement for McAllen trade corridor

McALLEN, Texas ( Border Report ) — The mayor of McAllen has signed an agreement with the governor of the border state of San Luis Potosí for Mexican commercial truck traffic to use the Anzalduas International Bridge through McAllen once it is expanded in 2025.

The memorandum of understanding was signed Sunday by McAllen Mayor Javier Villalobos and San Luis Potosí Gov. Ricardo Gallardo Cardona in the central Mexican state.

Villalobos tells Border Report the MOU commits to establishing a trade corridor through the Rio Grande Valley, and away from the crowded bridges in Laredo, Texas.

“They want to be partners. They want to make sure that their manufacturing companies, their maquiladoras , can come and cross as fast as possible. That’s something that’s very important, not just for us, but for everybody,” Villalobos told Border Report on Monday from the airport in Mexico as his team was preparing to return to the United States.

The deal comes just two months after Gallardo visited McAllen and the Anzalduas International Bridge and expressed how he wanted to expedite truck traffic from his Mexican state through McAllen.

San Luis Potosí is one of Mexico’s biggest producers of auto parts, and once the expansion of the Anzalduas International Bridge is complete, he hopes to be able to send many trucks full of auto parts to the United States through this bridge that connects Mission, Texas, to Reynosa, Mexico.

“Basically, the State of San Luis (Potosí) wants to promote trade and promote commerce through the Anzalduas International Bridge,” McAllen Bridge Superintendent Juan Olaguibel told Border Report on Monday.

“They have a lot of industrial parks and they were telling us that over 90% of their of their business are exported. And one of the challenges that they have was the delays, and the transportation and logistic challenges they had because most of the time they travel through Nuevo Laredo and Laredo bridges and those are congested. So they want other options,” Olaguibel said.

Olaguibel was part of the contingency that visited Mexico to strike the deal.

Their selling point is the current $85 million expansion of the Anzalduas International Bridge that will for the first time allow fully loaded commercial trucks to cross north from Mexico starting next year.

Olaguibel estimates the bridge will be renovated with customs bays operation by summer 2025.

But they also are discussing how to avoid bottlenecks in border communities from increased truck traffic, and continue to facilitate retail and tourism travel from Mexico into South Texas, which is higher now than before the COVID-19 pandemic, Olaguibel said.

Commercial truck traffic at the Anzalduas International Bridge in August brought in over $82,000, according to data presented Sept. 7 to the city’s bridge board.

Net income from all traffic at the bridge in July was nearly $400,000, that’s up 12% from the previous year, according to city data.

“We know that vehicular traffic is on a rise. People are coming to the valley to shop, they’re coming to the valley to invest. They’re coming to the McAllen to spend weekends, and we see it with the traffic increase. So, and now we’re going to add another component, which is truck traffic,” Olaguibel said.

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

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