COUNTY EYES FIFTH BRIDGE OFF FLOR DE MAYO

By Lynn Brezosky

San Antonio Express

BROWNSVILLE — After years of talk, a committee named by Cameron County commissioners has accepted proposals from four engineering firms for what would be this expanding city's fifth bridge to Mexico.

The new Flor de Mayo International Bridge will link to Flor de Mayo Road, which is the western extension of Alton Gloor Boulevard, one of the city's main links to its northern end, with thriving strip malls and retailers including Academy, Home Depot, Wal-Mart/Sam's Club, and Target. It is planned as a non-commercial bridge, one that will appeal to shoppers from Matamoros, Brownsville's sister city across the Rio Grande. “The retail development will complement that bridge,” said County Administrator Pete Sepulveda.

On the Matamoros side, the bridge will tie in directly to a major industrial park, Sepulveda said, giving new access to factory employees looking to shop or visit family in the Valley. Cameron County Judge Carlos Cascos said any opening date for the bridge is five to seven years away, but that the county is committed to meet the needs of anticipated growth.

International bridge projects have been a touchy subject for the county since 2004, when Port of Brownsville officials and then-U.S. Rep. Solomon Ortiz learned a painful lesson about taking a one-nation approach to a bi-national project. Ortiz had championed a $100 million truck-and-rail link to the port at the same time city officials were working toward a separate rail bridge to reroute trains away from both Brownsville and Matamoros' city centers.

The congressman called a Saturday ceremony to celebrate Mexico's cooperation and the imminent start of the port bridge, only to have no Mexican officials show up. Despite Ortiz's three documents of support from high offices in Mexico, the locals across the river weren't on board. What followed were lawsuits between the port and Dannenbaum Engineering, and the embarrassing disclosure that more than $20 million had been lost on so-called consulting and cross-border lobbying.

“It was an embarrassment for a lot of people. It was $21 million that was expended, and with nothing to show for it,” Cascos said. “This (new) bridge, our side may cost 25 to 30 million for our side alone. But we're going to do it the right way ... This is not our first international project; we know what needs to be done and how to do it.”

The West Rail project, which will be solely for trains, has meanwhile moved into the construction phase, with an opening expected around September. The Flor de Mayo will be the fifth road bridge for Cameron County and the first to open since the Veteran's International Bridge in 1999.

Neighboring Hidalgo County has seen two new bridges open in recent years, both with gala ceremonies on the Mexican side featuring helicopter fly-ins and speeches by Mexican President Felipe Calderón. The Donna-Rio Bravo International Bridge, which opened in December 2010, has had a slow start, Hidalgo County Judge Ramon Garcia said, but the Anzalduas International Bridge, which opened in January 2010 and provides for a faster drive to Monterrey, Mexico, is doing well.

“Donna's having some problems because of the low number of vehicles using the bridge,” he said. “But they feel very comfortable that they're going to be able to be in the black pretty quick.” Cascos said the Los Indios International Bridge, which links to a rural area between Matamoros and Reynosa, Mexico, from a small community south of San Benito, has taken years to catch on and is now barely breaking even in terms of costs and toll revenues. But he said officials need to think ahead.

“I can't say that we need it today, but you know we cannot stand still while the economy gets better and issues with Mexico get better,” he said. “We have to move forward, and really it's a plan for the future.”

Due to the miles of red tape and significant investment required from two nations, international bridge projects can take years to get to the construction phase. On the U.S. side, there may be squabbling between localities eager to land a crossing that will bring business and boost sales tax revenue. From there, plans must be developed and approved by an array of agencies including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. General Services Administration.

A presidential permit must come from Washington, D.C. And on the Mexican side, there must be cooperation from each newly elected city mayor or state governor during the years-long process. It's something Cascos said he learned from the West Rail project.

“We've been in discussions with Matamoros since I've been county judge,” he said. “Every time a new mayor comes in, and I've worked with three of them, I'll set up meetings and discussions with them to say, ‘These are our plans.' We did that with West Rail, we've done it with this bridge, we've done it with the expansion of the Veteran's, so we're in constant communication with them. They appear to be on board. That's the message I'm getting."

“I start with them because you've got to start with your local officials,” he said. “If they're against it, it's not going to go anywhere. But if they're for it, they can move it upstream to Ciudad Victoria and then on to Mexico City.”

lbrezosky@express-news.net