New Bridge joins Rio Bravo, Mex and Donna, Texas

Artist's rendering of new Donna, Texas land port entry

Bloomberg.com is reporting that Mexican President Felipe Calderon has inaugurated a new border bridge linking the Mexican city of Rio Bravo with Donna, Texas. The 300 million peso ($24 million) bridge crosses the Rio Grande, and is one of 17 spans linking Texas and Mexico's northern Tamaulipas state. Two are railway bridges.

Mexican officials expect the six-lane bridge to handle about 3,000 vehicles a day.Calderon said Tuesday that the bridge will handle passenger cars at first, but may later handle freight traffic.Tamaulipas state has been battered by drug-related violence, and U.S. and Mexican officials acknowledge that driving on many of the state's highways can be risky.

Of the 17 bridges connecting the US and Mexico, 2 are for train traffic and the 3 newest ones for vehicles are the Anzaldua bridge in Mcallen, another one in Arizona and now, one in Donna. The Valley keeps moving ahead with it's bridges while Laredo continues to stand idly by.