Cameron County intends to purchase Union Pacific Railroad’s ownership stake in the Brownsville & Matamoros Bridge Company, bringing the century-old crossing under county control to expand oversight of cross-border trade and travel.

The deal, announced Wednesday, is expected to close in late 2025 or early 2026 and will fold the B&M Bridge into the county’s International Bridge System, which already manages the Gateway, Free Trade, and Veterans bridges. Together, those crossings supported more than 5.6 million travelers and over $20 billion in trade in 2024.

While Cameron County officials have yet to disclose the price tag, Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño Jr. said the acquisition is more than a historic milestone, noting negotiations began about two years ago. 

“Securing the Brownsville & Matamoros Bridge Company is a transformative moment for Cameron County,” Treviño said in a news release Wednesday. “We’re preserving a vital piece of binational infrastructure and deepening our partnership with Mexico to support bi-national transportation, commerce, tourism, and cultural exchange.”

The B&M Bridge opened in 1910 and has been expanded twice, in 1953 and 1992. In 1997, a four-lane toll bridge was added alongside the original span. 

County Administrator Pete Sepulveda Jr. said the experience of running three international crossings positions Cameron County to modernize and streamline the B&M.

“Our goal is to streamline the operation of the B&M Bridge just as we have our other bridges,” Sepulveda said. “Over the last five years, we have invested in our bridge crossings to make them among the safest and most technologically advanced international bridges from Brownsville to San Diego, California.”

The acquisition comes as Cameron County pursues major infrastructure upgrades. A $260 million modernization of the Gateway International Bridge is scheduled to begin in 2026, and the Veterans International Bridge completed an expansion in 2024 that increased its passenger-vehicle inspection capacity.

The county has also secured presidential permits for two new crossings: the Flor de Mayo International Bridge upstream of the B&M and a pedestrian span next to the Gateway.

Commissioners are set to consider the stock purchase agreement with Union Pacific at their Oct. 7 meeting.