The Port of Brownsville held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday for the nearly two-mile-long South Port Connector Road, which officially opens to traffic on March 7.

The new road links S.H. 4 to the port south of the Brownsville Ship Channel. Collaborating on the project were the Brownsville Navigation District (BND), Cameron County and the county’s Regional Mobility Authority, the Rio Grande Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization and the Texas Department of Transportation, all of whom provided funding for the $25.6 million project, meant to improve port access and reduce truck traffic in the Brownsville area.

BND Board Chairman Sergio Tito Lopez commemorated the occasion by driving a truck through a ceremonial ribbon, officially opening the road for domestic and international trade.

“The Port of Brownsville is committed to investing in infrastructure to meet the growing business needs of our region for today and tomorrow,” he said. “Thousands of workers depend on the first-rate logistics services provided by the port as the leading economic engine of the Rio Grande Valley. I commend our partners involved in the project for contributing greatly to the success of the construction of this road.”

The South Port Connector provides a direct route to commercial traffic to and from Veterans International Bridge. Although the project was in the works long before SpaceX announced it was coming to Boca Chica, the road will also facilitate movement of equipment, supplies and components for SpaceX’s operations.

Construction of the road, the first phase of CCRMA’s East Loop Corridor, began in August 2020.


To see more of the Port of Brownsville’s ribbon-cutting ceremony, check out Brownsville Herald photojournalist Miguel Roberts’ full photo gallery here:

Photo Gallery: Ribbon cutting held for $25.6 million project