PRESIDIO — On Monday, a ribbon cutting ceremony was held on the Presidio International Bridge to mark an important milestone: the opening of a newly constructed lane on the Mexico-bound side of the bridge. Officials from the City of Presidio, Customs and Border Protection, and CAPUFE (Caminos y Puentes Federales) gathered to mark the occasion.
It was an important milestone for the crew working on the bridge — and an even bigger milestone for locals frustrated by years of delays. The Trump administration signed off on a permit in 2017 to build an additional two lanes on the bridge, in hopes of alleviating congestion and growing cross-border trade.
Both Mexico and the United States were initially working in lock-step, but construction on the American side stalled in 2020 due to pandemic-related — and later, political — delays.
In order for construction on the American side to pick up where it left off, the governor’s office needed to give the project a stamp of approval — but for over a year, there were no signatures, leading to finger-pointing from both sides of the border about who was to blame for the stalled construction.
In February of this year, permission was finally granted and work could begin again. For the first time in three years, there were work boots and hard hats on the bridge.
Construction is slated for completion in September, but local officials were able to gather and celebrate a mid-point of sorts on Monday. The crew is in the midst of finishing up a Mexico-bound two-lane bridge parallel to the existing bridge — one of the new lanes opened up, marking an important next step.
Presidio Mayor John Ferguson was in attendance, enthusiastically snapping photos and chatting with others who were excited to see the bridge project near completion. “[The workers] were excited to show everybody that the bridge is coming along,” he said.
Ferguson was told that the opening of the new lanes would lessen the strain on the existing bridge and allow space for the crews to rehabilitate the existing two lanes. Before calling it quits, the second lane on the Mexico-bound bridge will be opened, as well as a brand new pedestrian crossing on that side as well. “I think everybody’s going to be happy to see it all wrapped up,” he said.
Presidio County Judge Joe Portillo was also thrilled to celebrate the milestone. He felt that the bridge construction was moving along smoothly — he hadn’t heard of any supply-chain issues and until this week the crews had been working in unusually mild spring weather.
He had faith in the contractors meeting the September deadline. “We’ve seen more progress than we have in three years,” he said. “We’re there to support them and be a cheerleader for them.”