Veterans International Bridge Expansion Completed

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. It is also known as simply as the Veterans Bridge, the Los Tomates Bridge, or on the Mexico side as the Puente Internacional Ignacio Zaragoza. The bridge is owned and operated by Cameron County.

This international bridge unites the Matamoros–Brownsville Metropolitan Area, which counts with a population of 1,136,995, making it the 4th largest metropolitan area on the Mexico-US border.

Opened in 1999, 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.

On the Brownsville side, the bridge connects to the southern terminus of the I-69E / US 77 / US 83 freeway and the Brownsville – Veterans Port of Entry.  On the Matamoros side, it connects to the northern terminus of Fed. 101 / Fed. 180.

Cameron County owns and operates the Veterans International Bridge at Los Tomates. The Veterans International Bridge at Los Tomates operates eighteen hours a day. This bridge has improved the movement of goods and services on NAFTA highway trade routes.

In Matamoros, the bridge is located in a highly commercial and retail area of the community. The bridge ties directly into the city’s inner and outer loops. With an outer loop in place the Matamoros Airport is just fifteen minutes from the Veterans International Bridge at Los Tomates. On the U.S. side the Veterans International Bridge at Los Tomates is the starting point of I69E.  The Veterans International Bridge at Los Tomates provides a direct access to this retail corridor for people coming from Matamoros and other surrounding communities in Mexico.

Cameron County has completed construction on an expansion of the Veterans International Bridge at Los Tomates from four lanes to eight lanes. The capacity at the existing bridge has been exhausted since the Veterans International Bridge at Los Tomates contains both, a SENTRI lane and a FAST lane.