What’s more, it is conveniently located, just a short drive from both the Hidalgo International Bridge and the Anzalduas International Bridge, although commercial truck traffic won’t be crossing the latter until later in 2015. Nevertheless, the choice of one and eventually two border crossings makes this terminal market an attractive proposition for everyone, from growers, shippers, and drivers to cold storage operators, brokers, and distributors.
The Pharr International Bridge
One of the most important U.S. ports of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border, the 3.2-mile-long Pharr International Bridge connects the U.S. city of Pharr to the booming Mexican city of Reynosa. It is the only full-service commercial bridge in the Rio Grande Valley region.
Since opening in 1994, the bridge has gone from having no x-ray machines to gamma ray machines, six booths for commercial traffic, six cold storage units, and plans for continued expansion. These plans call for, among other things, the addition of another six cold storage units by the end of 2015 as well as a push for changes to facilitate the flow of south-to-north commercial traffic by designating a dedicated ‘certified’ lane for empty tractor-trailers.
Indeed, many call it the ‘Intelligent Bridge’ because of its state-of-the-art facilities and technology, such as the use of gamma rays and radio-frequency identification to scan incoming commercial traffic. In addition, the bridge offers shippers Free and Secure Trade (FAST) lanes as well as expedited entry to members of the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT), whose loads are certified in advance and can bypass the often lengthy inspection process as a result.
Considering the vast amount of traffic, it’s no surprise that efforts to facilitate better flow are in the works. According to Luis Bazán, industrial development manager at the Pharr International Bridge, nearly 4,000 trucks make the crossing every day, 2,000 going north and about 2,000 heading south.
In 2013, just over 100,000 trucks carrying produce crossed the border at Pharr. By 2020, according to a study by Texas A&M University’s Center for North American Studies, that number could balloon to 360,000 produce trucks per year.
Pharr was recently awarded a $1.2 million grant, funded in part by the U.S. Economic Development Administration, to develop and build an international trade center at the bridge. “We want to develop a trade center where we can allow for business operations, satellite offices, communications, and the exchange of information and ideas in case of natural disaster,” Bazán says. “The idea is that it can be a command center adding on to what we have here already.”
