{{Use American English|date=August 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2012}} {{Infobox Bridge |also_known_as= Veterans International Bridge, Veterans Bridge, Los Tomates Bridge, Puente Internacional Gral. Ignacio Zaragoza |carries= {{jct|state=TX|US|77|US|83}}, {{jct|state=TAM|FH|101|FH|180}} and pedestrians |crosses= Rio Grande |locale= Brownsville, Texas –<br /> Matamoros, Mexico |maint= Cameron County, Texas |id= |design= |mainspan= |length={{convert|4024|ft|m|abbr=on}}<ref name="TxDOT Veterans"/> |width={{convert|42|ft|m|abbr=on}}{{Citation needed|date=April 2011}} |clearance= |below= |traffic= }}
The '''Veterans''' '''International Bridge at Los Tomates''' is one of three international bridges that span the Mexico–United States border between the cities of Brownsville, Texas, and Matamoros, Tamaulipas.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Veterans International Bridge at Los Tomates - Bridge Department |url=https://www.cameroncountytx.gov/veterans-international-bridge-at-los-tomates/ |access-date=2024-02-23 |website=Cameron County |language=en}}</ref> It is also known as simply as the Veterans Bridge, the Expressway 77/83 Bridge, the Brownsville Expressway Bridge, and on the Mexico side as the Puente Internacional General Ignacio Zaragoza.<ref name="TxDOT Veterans">{{cite web|publisher=Texas Department of Transportation|url=https://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot-info/iro/international-bridges.pdf|title=Texas-Mexico International Bridges and Border Crossings, Existing and Proposed|year=2015|format=PDF|access-date=June 11, 2022}}</ref> The bridge is owned and operated by Cameron County. The bridge commenced operation on April 30, 1999.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Galarza |first=Martha |date=March 20, 2020 |orig-date=March 20, 2020 |title=International Toll Bridge System Financial Statements and Independent Auditors' Report For The Year Ended September 30, 2019 |url=https://cameroncountytx.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/International-Toll-Bridge-System-Financials-2019.pdf |access-date=March 29, 2024 |website=International Toll Bridge System Financials 2019 |page=9,18}}</ref>
The bridge unites the Matamoros–Brownsville Metropolitan Area, which has a population of 1,136,995,<ref>{{cite web|title=Matamoros-Brownsville|url=http://world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=&men=gpro&lng=en&des=wg&geo=-2&srt=pnan&col=adhoq&msz=1500&pt=a&va=x&geo=-1049423|publisher=World Gazetteer|access-date=August 22, 2011}}{{dead link|date=July 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> making it the 4th largest metropolitan area on the Mexico-U.S. border.<ref>{{cite web|title=World Gazetter: America – Largest Cities|url=http://world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=&men=gcis&lng=en&dat=32&geo=-2&srt=pnan&col=aohdq&pt=a&va=x|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001090654/http://world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=&men=gcis&lng=en&dat=32&geo=-2&srt=pnan&col=aohdq&pt=a&va=x|archive-date=2007-10-01}}</ref>
==Description== Beginning operations on April 30, 1999,<ref name=":0" /> the Veterans International Bridge is presently the newest of the three bridges in the Brownsville area. The roadway consists of four lanes and a truck lane. The bridge also has sidewalks on both sides to accommodate pedestrian traffic.<ref name="TxDOT Veterans"/> The bridge operates daily from 6 a.m. to midnight.<ref>{{Cite web |title=International Bridge System - Bridge Department |url=https://www.cameroncountytx.gov/international-bridge-system/ |access-date=2024-03-29 |website=Cameron County |language=en}}</ref>
On the Brownsville side, the bridge connects to the southern terminus of US 77 and US 83 and the Brownsville – Veterans Port of Entry.<ref name="Mapbook">{{Texas Mapbook|year=2018|page=2265|access-date=July 15, 2021}}</ref> On the Matamoros side, it connects to the northern terminus of Fed. 101 / Fed. 180.
As of October 1, 2022 the toll for bicycles and pedestrians is {{USD|1.00}} ($26.00 MXN). The toll for cars, pick-up trucks, and motorcycles is {{USD|4.00}} ($104.00 MXN). The toll for trucks begins at {{USD|11.00}} ($286.00 MXN) for those with two-axles.<ref>{{Cite web |title=International Bridge Tolls - Bridge Department |url=https://www.cameroncountytx.gov/international-bridge-tolls/ |access-date=2024-03-29 |website=Cameron County |language=en}}</ref> In the fiscal year ending in September 2010, the bridge saw 1,607,271 crossings, approximately double that of the Los Indios Bridge but half of the number at the Gateway International Bridge. This corresponded to a toll revenue in excess of US$6.6 million.<ref name="Revenues">{{cite web|author=Cameron County International Bridge System|title=Schedule of Toll Revenues, Fiscal Year 2010|url=http://www.co.cameron.tx.us/dot/docs/YTD11.pdf|access-date=April 13, 2011|archive-date=July 18, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718213831/http://www.co.cameron.tx.us/dot/docs/YTD11.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Border crossing== {{main|Brownsville – Veterans Port of Entry}}
The Brownsville Veterans Port of Entry opened in 1999 with the completion of the Veterans International Bridge at Los Tomates. It is the easternmost US-Mexico border crossing, and is by far the newest of the three crossings between Brownsville and Matamoros. In 2019, average daily traffic was about 4,000 vehicles including about 800 trucks.<ref name=":0" />
==History== {{Unreferenced section|date=April 2011}} A key component of an initiative to construct the new Veterans International Bridge at Los Tomates was the careful coordination among U.S. and Mexican local, state, and federal agencies. The Los Tomates Expressway (Interstate 69E/U.S. Highway 77/83) Extension project linking Brownsville, Texas, with Matamoros, Mexico, included new, elevated main lanes; construction of frontage roads; and improvements to the International Boulevard intersection. Other significant aspects of the project were the relocation and construction of a new 47 acre (19-hectare) park and the dedication of a new 175 acre (71-hectare) wildlife preserve. With the completion of the bridge and 10 other projects, international trucking can now bypass the heavily congested downtown corridors of Brownsville and Matamoros.
==Design and engineering== {{Unreferenced section|date=April 2011}} Design and Project management were completed by Maverick Engineering, Inc. – Design and project management of the Veterans’ International Bridge inbound traffic lane expansion. The scope of the project included the addition of one auto lane for fast access and several lanes for industrial traffic growth. One of these lanes was for the FAST processing of inbound NAFTA freight. The bridge connects with Interstate 69E/U.S. Highway 77/83 and is a major transit route for freight bound areas across the United States.
== See also == * List of international bridges in North America
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Crossings navbox |structure = Crossings |place = Rio Grande |bridge = Veterans International Bridge at Los Tomates |bridge signs = 30px 25px 25px 25px 25px |upstream = Gateway International Bridge |upstream signs = 25px |downstream = Gulf of Mexico |downstream signs = <!-- none --> }} {{Authority control}}
{{Coord|25|53|1|N|97|28|35|W|display=title}}
Category:Tamaulipas–United States bridges Category:Buildings and structures in Brownsville, Texas Category:Transportation in Brownsville, Texas Category:Monuments and memorials in Texas Category:Road bridges in Texas Category:Bridges completed in 1999 Category:Tolled sections of Interstate Highways Category:Toll bridges in Texas Category:Toll bridges in Mexico Category:Interstate 69 Category:U.S. Route 77 Category:U.S. Route 83 Category:Bridges on the Interstate Highway System Category:Bridges of the United States Numbered Highway System