{{Short description|International bridge crossing the Mexico–United States border}} {{Use American English|date=July 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}} {{Infobox bridge | name = Del Rio – Ciudad Acuña International Bridge | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = File:Rumbo puente acuña-del rio.jpg | image_upright = | alt = | caption = Road heading to the bridge from Ciudad Acuña | coordinates = {{coord|29|19|36.32|N|100|55|39.05|W|display=inline,title}} | os_grid_reference = | carries = | crosses = [[Rio Grande]] | locale = [[Del Rio, Texas]], US, and [[Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila]], Mexico | official_name = | other_name = | named_for = | owner = City of Del Rio | maint = | heritage = | id = | id_type = | website = | preceded = | followed = | design = | material = | material1 = | material2 = | length = {{convert|2035|ft}} | width = | height = | depth = | traversable = | towpath = | mainspan = | number_spans = | piers_in_water = | load = | clearance_above = | clearance_below = | life = | architect = | designer = | contracted_designer = | winner = | engineering = | builder = | fabricator = | begin = | complete = | cost = | open = 1930 | inaugurated = | rebuilt = 1987 | collapsed = | closed = | replaces = | traffic = | toll = | map_type = | map_relief = | map_dot_label = | map_image = | map_size = | map_alt = | map_caption = }}
The '''Del Rio–Ciudad Acuña International Bridge''' is a border crossing over the [[Rio Grande]], connecting the [[Mexico–United States border|United States–Mexico border]] cities of [[Del Rio, Texas]], US, and [[Ciudad Acuña|Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila]], Mexico.
== Description == The bridge has four-lane wide by {{convert|2035|ft|m|abbr=on}} long.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Del Río-Ciudad Acuña International Bridge |url=http://www.dot.state.tx.us/services/transportation_planning_and_programming/border_crossings_study/crossings/delrio.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080604092019/http://www.dot.state.tx.us/services/transportation_planning_and_programming/border_crossings_study/crossings/delrio.htm |archive-date=June 4, 2008 |website=[[Texas Department of Transportation]]}}</ref> On the US side, the bridge is owned and operated by the City of Del Rio. In Mexico, it is under the ownership and administration of the federal transportation agency [[Caminos y Puentes Federales]].<ref name=":0">{{cite web |title=Del Río-Ciudad Acuña International Bridge |url=http://www.txdot.gov/project_information/projects/border_crossing/delrio.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120620151259/http://www.txdot.gov/project_information/projects/border_crossing/delrio.htm |archive-date=20 June 2012 |accessdate=12 August 2012 |work=Texas Department of Transportation}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Puente Internacional Acuña |url=https://www.gob.mx/capufe/articulos/puente-internacional-acuna |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211027152059/https://www.gob.mx/capufe/articulos/puente-internacional-acuna |archive-date=27 October 2021 |website=[[Caminos y Puentes Federales]] |publisher= |language=Spanish}}</ref>
The Del Rio Port of Entry is located at this bridge.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021 |title=Texas-Mexico International Border Crossings Guide |url=https://ftp.txdot.gov/pub/txdot/move-texas-freight/studies/texas-mexico-border-crossings-guide-2021.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250308051825/https://ftp.txdot.gov/pub/txdot/move-texas-freight/studies/texas-mexico-border-crossings-guide-2021.pdf |archive-date=March 8, 2025 |publisher=[[Texas Department of Transportation]] |pages=15-21}}</ref>
The bridge is also known as Puente International Del Río (Del Río International Bridge), Puente Acuña (Acuña Briidge), and Puente Ciudad Acuña-Ciudad Del Río (Acuña and Del Río City Bridge).<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Operación, mantenimiento, conservación y explotación del Puente Internacional Ciudad Acuña, en el Estado de Coahuila |url=https://www.proyectosmexico.gob.mx/proyecto_inversion/529-puente-internacional-ciudad-acuna/ |website=Proyectos México |publisher=[[Federal government of Mexico|Government of Mexico]] |language=Spanish}}</ref>
==History== The Del Rio–Ciudad Acuña International Bridge spans across the [[Rio Grande]], connecting the [[Mexico–United States border|US-Mexico border]] cities of [[Del Rio, Texas]], US and [[Ciudad Acuña|Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila]], Mexico. The bridge was constructed in 1930 and rebuilt in 1987.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />
=== 2021 migrant surge === In mid-September 2021, a large group of migrants, almost all [[Haitians|from Haiti]], attempted to enter the U.S. by crossing the shallow Rio Grande and seeking shelter beneath the bridge, where they lived in unhealthy conditions. The crowd grew from a few hundred to thousands within a week, initially overwhelming authorities.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Jaclyn Diaz |date=September 17, 2021 |title=In Texas, Officials Are Reporting A Surge Of Migrants At The Southern Border This Week |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/09/17/1038157965/in-texas-officials-are-reporting-a-surge-in-migrants-at-the-southern-border-this |publisher=NPR |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author1=James Dobbins |author2=Eileen Sullivan |author3=Edgar Sandoval |date=September 16, 2021 |title=Thousands of Migrants Huddle in Squalid Conditions Under Texas Bridge |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/16/us/texas-migrants-del-rio.html |newspaper=New York Times}}</ref>
By September 24, 2021, all of the approximately 15,000 migrants were cleared from their encampment underneath the bridge. The [[U.S. Department of Homeland Security]] (DHS) reported that about 8,000 migrants departed to Mexico voluntarily; 2,000 migrants were expelled to Haiti on 17 DHS-organized flights, and 5,000 were placed in DHS processing to determine if they would be expelled or assigned to an immigration [[Removal proceedings|removal proceeding]].{{efn|Some of the migrants are applying for asylum in the U.S.<ref name="NYTimes92321">[https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/23/us/haitian-migrants-texas-camp.html Thousands of Haitian Migrants to Stay in U.S.]", ''[[The New York Times]]''. September 23, 2021. Retrieved September 23, 2021.</ref> Of those permitted to remain in the U.S. pending hearings, some were permitted to go to New York, Boston and Miami.<ref name="NYTimes92321" /><ref name="KHOU">"[https://www.khou.com/article/news/special-reports/at-the-border/haitian-migrants-staying-in-the-us/285-aac4d674-5f8e-4dbf-a429-70fac6096550 Haitian migrants from border camp moved to Houston, other cities, US officials confirm]", [[KHOU]]. September 22, 2021. Retrieved September 23, 2021.</ref>}}<ref>Felicia Sonmez, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/immigrants-haitians-biden-administration/2021/09/24/a05fd1bc-1d66-11ec-a99a-5fea2b2da34b_story.html All migrants have been cleared from encampment in Del Rio, Tex., homeland security secretary says], ''Washington Post'' (September 24, 2021).</ref>
== See also == * [[List of international bridges in North America]]
==Notes== {{notelist}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Crossings navbox |structure = Crossings |place = [[Rio Grande]] |bridge = Del Rio–Ciudad Acuña International Bridge |bridge signs = [[File:Spur plate.svg|25px]]<br/>[[File:US 277.svg|25px]] |upstream = [[Lake Amistad Dam International Crossing]] |upstream signs = [[File:Texas Spur 349.svg|25px]] [[File:Carretera federal 2.svg|25px]] |downstream = [[Eagle Pass–Piedras Negras International Bridge]] |downstream signs = [[File:US 57.svg|25px]] [[File:Carretera federal 57.svg|25px]] }} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Del Rio - Ciudad Acuna International Bridge}} [[Category:Coahuila–United States bridges]] [[Category:Toll bridges in Texas]] [[Category:Bridges completed in 1930]] [[Category:Buildings and structures in Val Verde County, Texas]] [[Category:Transportation in Val Verde County, Texas]] [[Category:Road bridges in Texas]] [[Category:Toll bridges in Mexico]] [[Category:Del Rio, Texas]]