Cameron County to borrow $33M for Brownsville & Matamoros International Bridge purchase, upgrades

Cameron County already owns shares of three international bridges connecting Brownsville, Texas, and Matamoros, Mexico, but it’s on track to own four after a deal with railroad giant Union Pacific closes. And in the coming years, it could own five different bridges. 

To finance the deal, Cameron County commissioners approved $33 million in revenue bonds in October to fund their equity stake in the Brownsville & Matamoros Bridge – otherwise known as the B&M Express Bridge. The 50% ownership will cost $31 million, while an additional $2 million will go toward renovations. The funds will be repaid over 30 years, and financing is expected to close by the end of December, pending any issues. 

County weighs options for bridge

The B&M Express Bridge comprises two structures: a single railroad track built in 1909 and reconstructed in 1953, plus four vehicular lanes – two in each direction. 

Pedestrians walking into Mexico use the historic railroad bridge, while those heading into Brownsville on foot use the vehicular bridge, which features a dedicated sidewalk. 

Union Pacific stopped using the B&M Bridge railroad track about a decade ago. 

Cameron County officials told the Rio Grande Valley Business Journal that the railroad track could be repurposed for pedestrian use, revamped as an additional vehicular lane, or leveraged to create a new trolley system connecting visitors, commuters, and residents alike between Brownsville and Matamoros. 

“I think that having the B&M Bridge under the control of the county will allow us to have a much better flow of traffic in and around the downtown area,” said Pete Sepulveda, Cameron County administrator and Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority executive director. 

For example, on a recent Friday evening, the line of passenger vehicles waiting to cross the B&M Bridge into Matamoros stretched for at least half a mile, with cars honking and pedestrians crossing to return to Mexico without a dedicated crosswalk. 

“It will allow us to be able to work with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and better utilize their resources, enhance wait times at the different bridges, and perhaps come up with different crossing options for pedestrians and passenger vehicles,” Sepulveda said. “I think long-term it’s huge for the county. If we can expedite the pedestrian traffic to where they can be pre-cleared by CBP and make their crossing a lot faster, a lot safer, then I think that’s the type of service the community deserves.” 

There’s already a hiking and bicycle trail in Matamoros on an old railroad track that could potentially connect to downtown Brownsville’s trail system. 

“It’s a steel bridge, so it’s structurally sound, and we can utilize that as a passenger lane for vehicles, for a trolley to come between Matamoros and Brownsville, or pedestrian or bicycle. We’re going to have to give it some thought,” he said. 

Bridge system revenue climbs

In 1969, the Gateway International Bridge, which connects downtown Brownsville to Matamoros, was built. For decades, it was used by pedestrians, passenger vehicles, and commercial trucks until trucks were diverted in the late 1990s. It’s 100% owned by Cameron County. 

In 1992, the Free Trade Bridge, also known as the Los Indios-Lucio Blanco Bridge, was built for $31.6 million. It has a total of four lanes for both passenger vehicles and commercial traffic. Cameron County owns 50%, while the cities of Harlingen and San Benito each own 25% of the Free Trade Bridge.  

In 1999, the Veterans International Bridge at Los Tomates, closer to the Port of Brownsville, diverted tractor-trailers from traffic congestion in Brownsville’s historic downtown. It’s co-owned by Cameron County and the city of Brownsville. The Los Tomates bridge cost $19.3 million on the U.S. side, in addition to a $16.2 million U.S. Customs and Border Protection station.  

As a result, both the B&M Express Bridge and the Gateway International Bridge stopped accepting commercial traffic. 

“If y’all recall, prior to 1999, the commercial traffic would stack up all the way past Four Corners [neighborhood],” Sepulveda told Cameron County commissioners during a recent meeting. 

He then showed bridge traffic over two decades with downturns during Mexican peso devaluations and the COVID-19 pandemic, but in recent years, bridge traffic has been on an upward trend. While Brownsville has several bridges, U.S. Customs and Border Protection lumps all of the bridges’ border crossing data under a single port of entry. 

In July 2025 alone, those bridges accommodated 225,330 pedestrians, 753,445 passenger vehicles, 25,000 trucks, more than 350 buses, and 84 trains.

See the latest Rio Grande Valley border crossing information inside the Data Center. 

“Hopefully long-term we’re able to increase the total revenues and maybe we will couple that with a decrease in the [Cameron County] property tax rate,” Sepulveda told the Rio Grande Valley Business Journal. 

The Cameron County International Toll Bridge System generated $22.7 million in operating revenue in 2023, most of it from tolls. That’s about $3.2 million more than the previous year, when the system earned $19.5 million. 

Operating costs also rose slightly, from $5.5 million in 2022 to $5.8 million in 2023. After expenses, the bridges generated $16.8 million in operating income, up from $13.9 million the year before.

The system still has about $11.4 million in outstanding debt, which it pays down at a rate of roughly $1.1 million a year.

Other bridge projects in the works

Beyond record crossings and revenue gains, Cameron County’s bridge system is also in the midst of significant expansion, backed by new federal contracts and presidential approvals.

In June 2021, then-President Joe Biden approved a new vehicular and pedestrian bridge for Cameron County, the Flor de Mayo International Bridge. Four years later, the Flor de Mayo bridge is in the National Environmental Policy Act permitting and planning stages. 

In December 2024, the Biden-Harris administration awarded a $264 million contract to modernize the Gateway International Bridge. At the time, the bridge saw a monthly average of 92,000 passenger vehicles and 89,000 pedestrians. Improvements include expanding processing lanes, building new inspection facilities and upgrading infrastructure. Construction on those improvements is expected to begin in 2026. 

In August, President Donald J. Trump approved a $10 million presidential permit for a new pedestrian-only walkway at the Gateway International Bridge, designed to run alongside the current bridge.