Inaction threatens historic Roma bridge

Authorities on both sides of the border are trying to save the San Pedro-Roma Suspension Bridge.

Leaders at all levels in the United States and Mexico have been meeting for years to try to preserve the international bridge as a pedestrian crossing, but those efforts have been delayed, with U.S. officials blaming the holdup on a lack of continuity among Mexican officials, who in turn cite onerous requirements and procedures on the U.S. side as the problem.

Built in 1928, the bridge still bears the name of the community that witnessed its inception. San Pedro de Roma, a community that was within the city limits of Ciudad Mier City, was de-annexed in 1950 and renamed Ciudad Miguel Alemán, in honor of then president of México Miguel Alemán Valdez, who was in office from 1946 to1952. The bridge is listed in Mexico as a National Artistic Monument. The United States listed it on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

“That is of great interest for us, of course, because it is the last international suspension bridge in this country,” Starr County Judge Eloy Vera said. “It would be a great tourist attraction. Naturally, we want to preserve it, we want to save it.”

Just last year the Miguel Alemán mayor, Servando López Moreno, celebrated the 80th anniversary of the span, which is believed to be the only international suspension bridge left standing in the world. The bridge has been out of service since 1979, but that fact didn’t diminish the celebration.

López explained in Spanish that the anniversary blowout was conceived as a way to attract attention to the structure and breathe new life into the preservation efforts. He envisions the impact it could have on tourism, attracting throngs of visitors who will want to cross into Miguel Alemán on foot to shop at the city’s conveniently located retailers.

But he worries the prospect of rescuing the distressed structure and reaping those economic benefits is slim.

“If it continues deteriorating it’s going to get to a point that the U.S. Coast Guard could declare it a danger for the adjacent bridge,” he said. “Since 1996 we have been struggling to invest more money on both sides (of the border) … but so far we have accomplished nothing.”

WHO IS DOING WHAT

If dealing with one federal government is challenging, dealing with two of them is doubly so, Starr County Judge Vera said. The Mexican government wants to do the re-cabling of the bridge, which was fine with the Texas Department of Transportation until the agency realized that whoever does the re-cabling of the whole bridge also has to take care of the anchors.

The Mexican side wants the contract to go to French company Fraisinet, which specializes in suspension bridges, but that idea doesn’t fly with U.S. officials.

“By law we cannot,” said Mario Jorge, TxDOT’s district engineer for the eight-county region that includes Starr County. “We have to do an open bidding contract.”

U.S. officials also disagree with their Mexican counterparts on the projected cost to rehab the bridge.

“It costs $2 million: $1 million will be paid by the Mexican side, and another million from the U.S. side,” Miguel Alemán’s Mayor López said.

TxDOT, meanwhile, says it will cost as much as $6 million.

Jorge explained that the assessment done in the 1990s is no longer usable and must be redone. Environmental assessments also must be completed before the project could move forward.

Roma is willing to pick up that tab for now and collect from the Mexican side later, as a sign of its willingness to continue with the project, City Manager Cris Salinas said.

“We are working together, but we’ve got to work harder,” López said. “We have a historic responsibility.”

Martha L. Hernández covers Mission, western Hidalgo County and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach her at (956) 683-4846.