Texas Border Business
By Roberto Hugo González / Texas Border Business
EDINBURG, Texas — The Pharr International Bridge is preparing to begin phased operations on its expanded crossing in mid-September, with a formal grand opening and ribbon-cutting celebration scheduled for Nov. 12, Bridge Director Luis Bazan said.
Bazan discussed the expansion during an interview at the third annual Truck Expo, hosted on behalf of the Pharr International Bridge and the City of Pharr at Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg.
The bridge recently held what Bazan described as a private “soft opening,” but commercial traffic is expected to begin using the expanded infrastructure within the next two to three weeks.
“By the middle of September, we’re going to open already,” Bazan said. “We’re going to phase out the opening.”
The initial phase will open two lanes for trucks traveling into Mexico and returning to the United States, he said. Maintenance will then be performed on the existing bridge for approximately three weeks.
Bazan said the entire expanded crossing should be operational in about a month and a half.
Mexico is already prepared for the transition, he said.
“Mexico’s ready,” Bazan said, adding that the Mexican side has been using its portion of the expansion for more than a year and a half.
The November celebration will formally mark the completion of a project designed to increase capacity at one of the Rio Grande Valley’s principal commercial crossings.
Bazan said participation in events such as the Truck Expo is also part of the bridge’s strategy to promote international trade and strengthen its relationship with the transportation industry.
“We want to highlight the importance of trade here in the community,” Bazan said. “We invite the trade community. We invite the community as a whole, because we’re trying to make the connection. Why is the Pharr Bridge important? Why is trade important? We all depend on it.”
He described the trucking industry as essential to moving goods and supporting the economy.
“At the end of the day, again, the trucking industry, these are the wheels that keep the economy going,” Bazan said.
Bazan also credited the City of Pharr’s leadership and the bridge staff for the work behind the expansion and the Truck Expo.
“It starts with our leadership, with our mayor,” he said. “It starts with our leadership, the management, the City Commission, the Bridge Board of Directors, but the team internally at the bridge, we’ve been growing this team, we’ve been scaling it in the last couple years.”
He said the bridge team was responsible for making the third annual Truck Expo successful.
“This is a successful event because of them,” Bazan said.
The city intends to continue expanding the Truck Expo, with Bazan confirming plans for a fourth annual event next year.
Looking further ahead, he said Pharr hopes to eventually develop its own facility where events such as the Truck Expo could be held, potentially around 2027 or 2028, although he emphasized that the timeline is not definite.
For now, the immediate focus is beginning operations on the bridge expansion and preparing for the Nov. 12 grand opening.
See related stories:
