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Gov. Greg Abbott is making a $150 million move to help fund the construction of the International Bridge Trade Corridor that would stretch from Pharr to Donna, and which local and state officials believe will grow trade opportunities between Mexico and the U.S.
The governor’s office announced in a news release Monday that Abbott “called on” the Texas Transportation Commission and Texas Department of Transportation to allocate the funds to support the corridor’s construction. This would be part of the TxDOT’s Unified Transportation Program, which plans transportation development across Texas over a decade.
The corridor would consist of four lanes without tolls and allow direct traffic flow to the interstate for the Rio Grande Valley’s international ports of entry. The plan is to speed the pace that goods and freight move through the border.
Stretching for more than 13 miles, the corridor would begin in south Pharr and would also be located in San Juan, Alamo and extend north to Interstate 2 in Donna.
“Strengthening our ports and roadway infrastructure to support international trade will help Texas remain the No. 1 exporting state and a global economic powerhouse,” Abbott said in a statement Monday. “This project will bolster international trade and accelerate throughput at border checkpoints to better move freight and improve security. Texas is the top exporting state and with this investment, we will boost our state’s economy in the Rio Grande Valley and across our state.”
Phase one of construction would consist of building four 12-foot frontage roads with two going in each direction, and 10-foot outside shoulders and 4- to 10-foot inside shoulders. These would stretch from South Pharr to Farm-to-Market Road 493 and the main lanes “from the future Valley View Interchange to I-2,” the governor’s office release explained.
Phase two, according to the release, would see the construction of four 12-foot main lanes also with two going in each direction and 10-foot inside and outside shoulders that a concrete traffic barrier would divide.
“The ultimate design would also provide for overpasses and ramps at major intersections,” the release read.
Texas Transportation Chairman Bruce Bugg said in a statement that the corridor would also enhance safety and improve traffic flow as well as “easing congestion” on city and state roads.
“For local communities, (the corridor) would mean less truck traffic on local Farm to Market roadways through school zones and business districts,” Bugg wrote.
Fellow Texas Transportation Commissioner Alex Meade — who serves as executive vice president for Texas Regional Bank and formerly as the director and city manager for the Mission Economic Development Corporation and the city of Pharr, respectively — said the project has been in the planning and development stages for years and that the $150 million would ensure it moving forward.
According to Meade, a Brownsville native and Mission resident, the corridor project is in collaboration with the Hidalgo County Regional Mobility Authority and “is slated to begin in 2026 and is anticipated to take three years to complete.”
Shortly after Abbott’s announcement, State Rep. Terry Canales, who chairs the House Committee on Transportation and who also serves on the Sunset Advisory Commission, said in a statement that the UTP draft is expected to be released this week along with the $150 million.
“Fully funding (the corridor) has been a priority for me for many years, and I am proud that our countless meetings and correspondence with the (governor’s) office, Texas Transportation Commission, and the Texas Department of Transportation is leading to this funding,” Canales wrote. “It’s a challenge to overstate just how important (the corridor) is to the Rio Grande Valley. Our region has over (1) million commercial motor vehicles driving on our roads every year, and an enormous percentage are trucks funneled from our ports of entry delivering goods to the U.S.”
Canales went on to state that these trucks drive on city roads as well as state highways, which he said causes “serious safety issues for our residents” and discourages “some businesses from using our ports of entry.”
“Once the (corridor) is finally constructed, it will better streamline international traffic in our region, incentivize businesses to invest more in our region, and provide solutions to some of our current safety issues,” Canales stated before crediting Abbott and Meade as well as Mayors Ramiro Garza of Edinburg, Ambrosio Hernandez of Pharr, Javier Villalobos of McAllen and Norie Gonzalez Garza of Mission “for their work to get this funding secured.”
State Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa also issued a statement praising the governor’s decision and crediting local officials’ efforts to get the project off the ground. Hinojosa focused much of his praise for Hernandez.
“This project will not only improve transportation and trade between the United States and Mexico, but it will also create jobs and boost economic growth in the region. I also want to thank all our RGV officials, including Pharr Mayor Ambrosio Hernandez, for his tireless advocacy for this project and for working closely with our legislative delegation to make it a reality,” Hinojosa stated. “(Gov.) Abbott, in collaboration and with the support of Chairman Terry Canales and the Valley legislative delegation, has kept his promise to prioritize the infrastructure needs of our border communities.
“I look forward to seeing the positive impact this project will have on the Rio Grande Valley and the Texas economy.”
