McAllen, Pharr at odds over extending Anzaluas bridge's operating hours

McALLEN — City leaders say they're in negotiations with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to keep the new Anzalduas International Bridge open 18 hours a day.

The U.S. State Department last week dropped a requirement from the presidential permit that would have only allowed the crossing to be open 12 hours a day.

Extended hours, McAllen officials said, would help increase traffic numbers and make it easier for commercial carriers to bring their goods across the border.

The State Department ruling followed months of lobbying by local leaders, who have made several trips to Washington, D.C., to discuss the future of the bridge, scheduled to open in October.

Now, local officials will also try to persuade the federal government to authorize the bridge to carry commercial traffic earlier than originally authorized by the permit.

Issued by the federal government in 1999, the permit green-lighted the construction and operation of the bridge. But it also prohibited cargo traffic on the span until 2015, or until the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge starts receiving 15,000 northbound commercial vehicles per week.

McAllen and Mexican officials have urged federal officials to hasten that timetable, arguing it's in the region's best interest to have multiple commercial crossings sooner rather than later.

Once commercial cargo traffic is authorized at Anzalduas, the bridge's annual revenue would likely increase from around $2.6 million to $3.4 million, McAllen City Manager Mike Perez said. But the benefits of opening up the bridge to commercial traffic extend beyond revenue from crossing fees.

Improved transportation would be a powerful recruitment tool for bringing new businesses to the area, Perez said.

Plants opening on the west side of Reynosa would have a much easier time crossing their cargo at Anzalduas than at Pharr, he said. It would also help alleviate concerns from businesses unsure how they would move their goods if a disaster ever closed the Pharr bridge - the only crossing in Hidalgo County that allows commercial traffic.

The Pharr crossing was forced to close briefly in 2008, when a fiery collision caused by a jackknifed truck killed four.

But Pharr officials vehemently oppose amending the Anzalduas permit, arguing that when they opened their bridge in 1994, they did so assuming that any new crossing would have to abide by the 2015 timetable. Opening Anzalduas to commercial traffic earlier would cut into Pharr's projected revenues.

McAllen officials say they are hoping to push the 2015 date up to 2012.

The new Anzalduas bridge consists of a four-lane, 9,200-foot elevated span from Farm-to-Market Road 494 near Granjeno to the international boundary in the river.

McAllen, Mission, Hidalgo and Granjeno all stand to profit from the project.

For McAllen to get early approval for commercial traffic, it would first have to submit an environmental impact study of the bridge as well as a traffic study.

McAllen Bridge Director George Ramon said he expects to deliver those reports to officials in Washington, D.C., next week.

"What we're simply looking to do is make our region more competitive by having efficient border crossings," Ramon said.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the International Boundary and Water Commission and other agencies would also have to authorize the acceleration of the timetable for the change to occur.

Meanwhile, the State Department will have to accept public comments on the proposed change for three to four months before any amendment can be made.

Getting authorization for the change from CBP could pose a challenge, since the agency would have to supply staff at the bridge earlier than expected. The cash-strapped Texas Department of Transportation would also have a presence at the crossing earlier than planned.

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Ryan Holeywell covers McAllen, PSJA, the Mid-Valley and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4446.