County officials said Wednesday that they were one step closer to establishing a rail bridge crossing near the Colombia-Solidarity Bridge.
Carlos Villarreal, president of the Webb County Rural Rail Transportation District, announced that Pedro Cerisola, secretary of communications and transportation for the Mexican federal government, had granted the state of Nuevo Leon the authority to build a railroad bridge across the international border at Colombia.
"This has been the first concession the Mexican government has signed in, I think, over 100 years," Villarreal said.
According to Villarreal, the bridge would be about 20 miles from Laredo's downtown area.
"We think this is a major step to achieve our goal of getting most, if not all, rail traffic out of the inner city," Villarreal said.
County Judge Louis Bruni said he was pleased with the progress of the three-year-old project, expected to cost about $100 million.
"It's a historic day for Webb County," Bruni said. "It will close all downtown rail traffic, and it will free up gridlock."
Bruni added that it would also keep boxcars carrying hazardous material from traveling through populated areas and causing an accident, as well as keep rail traffic from blocking Emergency Medical Services.
"I consider this one of the most important things that has happened during my tenure, and one of the most important things to happen in the last 20 years in Laredo," Bruni said.
Bruni also said that things might be moving more quickly if the county were working with City of Laredo officials.
"If we can do that in such a short term, what could we have done with two governments?" Bruni asked. "The bridge could be already in construction."
Mayor says city's willing
Mayor Betty Flores said she hasn't refused to work with him.
"When we see him actually trying to work with us then I'll certainly consider it," Flores said. "I never said I wouldn't work with him when we could."
Flores agreed with the county's evaluation of the rail traffic, saying it was devastating.
"We need to move them out," she said.
Officials with the City of Laredo have been seeking to build a second rail bridge two miles south of the World Trade Bridge.
Flores said city officials feel positive about their own progress and are working with TFM - the owner of Laredo's only railroad bridge - Union Pacific and the Tex-Mex railroad.
"I think we're moving ahead very quickly, in fact," Flores said.
Flores said Union Pacific, which has held a presidential permit from the U.S. to build a new bridge since 1995, is supportive of the city's project as a faster and more affordable option because it will not involve laying rail entirely around the city.
"They (Union Pacific) are going to take the path of least resistance, and of course, that's the one that's more affordable for them," she said.
Not about winning
County Commissioner Jerry Garza said the two rail bridges are not in competition.
"This is not about whose application won," Garza said. "This is about a problem that has persisted for a very long time and we're trying to alleviate some of the traffic because of the train congestion."
Mexican officials have indicated that they will not issue permits for a rail crossing within urban populated areas, which is why county officials say the city won't get their bridge, Villarreal said.
Presidential permit next
He added that he expects to apply and receive a presidential permit on the U.S. side in about six to seven months. If there are no obstacles, Villarreal expects the bridge to be constructed in three and a half to four years.
Already county officials have spoken with the Texas Department of Transportation about leasing right-of-way along the Camino Colombia toll road for the railroad tracks. TxDOT officials have encouraged the county to continue working on plans.
Villarreal said that with traffic from industrial Monterrey, rising costs of fuel and the addition of the Toyota plant in San Antonio, he expects more than the average annual increase of 10 percent in rail traffic over the next year.
"What is being proposed will be able to give our train traffic some relief," he said.
(Julie Daffern can be reached at 728-2538 or jdaffern@lmtonline.com.)
