Valley bridges count fewer Mexico-bound travelers — again

HIDALGO — Across the Rio Grande Valley, most international bridges counted fewer people headed to Mexico this year.

It’s a familiar story for bridge managers, who have watched drug-related violence, the stagnant economy and post-9/11 documentation requirements slowly throttle cross-border travel. While commercial traffic has notched small increases, auto and pedestrian traffic remains depressed.

“It’s a doom-and-gloom kind of story, but it’s reality,” said Pharr Bridge Director Jesse Medina. “And I think everyone realizes that when the bridges are down, the economy suffers in the Valley.”

The numbers are striking.

>> Overall traffic on Cameron County’s three major international bridges fell 8.3 percent in fiscal year 2011. In the past five years, overall traffic has fallen 31 percent, largely driven by a massive decline in passenger car traffic, according to data provided by Cameron County. The Gateway, Veterans and Free Trade bridges handled a combined 2.9 million passenger vehicles in fiscal year 2011, down from 4.9 million in 2007.

“Instead of going every month, they might go every three months,” said Deputy County Administrator David Garcia. “The habits of the traveling public change and we don’t see those people crossing our bridges as often as they would have in the past because of issues that come up — the border security issues.”

>> Vehicle traffic on the Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge fell 15.8 percent in fiscal year 2011. In the past decade, vehicle traffic has fallen 50.9 percent, owing to both falling traffic and increased competition for the remaining travelers, according to data provided by McAllen. The bridge handled 3 million vehicles in fiscal year 2011, down from 6.1 million in 2002.

“There’s no doubt that the traffic is down, the numbers are there,” said Superintendant of Bridges Rigo Villarreal, who oversees both the Hidalgo-Reynosa and Anzalduas bridges. Villarreal said he was optimistic improvements at the Hidalgo-Reynosa bridge, including new shade canopies, would boost pedestrian traffic.

>> Incomplete data posted to Pharr’s website shows traffic fell 16.3 percent year-over-year from October 2010 to July 2011. Pharr’s bridge handles commercial truck traffic, which generates higher toll revenue than passenger vehicles.

“I think that after next year, things will probably start getting better,” said Medina, Pharr’s bridge director. “The stories you hear are just incredibly bad and the truth of the matter is that’s not true, but the perception is that it’s extremely dangerous.”

>> Mexico-bound traffic on the Anzalduas International Bridge increased 23.6 percent in fiscal year 2011, the bridge’s second full year of operation. The bridge handled 853,000 vehicles in 2011, up from 689,000 in 2010.

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Dave Hendricks covers McAllen and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at dhendricks@themonitor.com and (956) 683-4452.

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