Rep. Cuellar, City of Laredo Host Binational Briefing Regarding Proposed World Trade Bridge Expansion Project

Press Release

Today, Congressman Cuellar, the City of Laredo, and representatives from Tamaulipas, Texas and the U.S. federal government met to discuss a proposed expansion project for World Trade Bridge in Laredo, also known as Laredo International Bridge IV.

The current bridge, which officially opened on April 15, 2000, has eight lanes and is used for commercial traffic only. Stakeholders at today's meeting would like to see expansion of the bridge infrastructure, with more lanes, including a lane for pre-cleared cargo.

A pre-inspection program would reduce customs processing times and transnational costs by allowing joint export and import inspections of shipments. This would expedite the flow of goods across our border, reduce congestion and enhance the economic competitiveness of both Laredo and Nuevo Laredo.

"Today's meeting with stakeholders was important for us to discuss what improvements we should make to the World Trade Bridge," Congressman Cuellar said. "The Port of Laredo is already a competitive trading area, but by providing the right infrastructure, we can increase international trade, bring more jobs and make our roads and bridges safer. The ideas presented today will go a long way toward enhancing security and relieving congestion and wait times at the bridge. I thank the City of Laredo, the City of Nuevo Laredo, and all our representatives from GSA, CBP, Texas and Tamaulipas for their support towards these goals."

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