Critical $100M Rail Bridge Opens at Texas-Mexico Border

Patrick J. Ottensmeyer International Railway Bridge more than doubles CPKC capacity at the border. (CPKC)

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A key rail route that connects Texas to Mexico has now opened after Canadian Pacific Kansas City unveiled the new Patrick J. Ottensmeyer International Railway Bridge in December.

Construction on the 1,150-foot-long bridge, which spans over the Rio Grande between Laredo and the Mexican city of Nuevo Laredo, began on Oct. 31, 2022, ended Dec. 17, 2024, and cost $100 million. It’s the second international railway connecting Laredo and Nuevo Laredo, expected to double freight capacity over the Rio Grande.

Before completion of the Ottensmeyer Bridge, the Laredo International Railway Bridge serviced by Canadian Pacific Kansas City and Mexican subsidiary Kansas City Southern de México was the only freight rail route in the area and over the Rio Grande. The Laredo bridge opened in 1920 and sees approximately 26 trains daily, according to a 2022 report.

“Completion of this internationally important project more than doubles our capacity to move freight through the border at the largest international trade port of entry in North America,” said CPKC President and CEO Keith Creel in a release. “This is an important milestone that keeps Laredo-Nuevo Laredo at the center of North American trade, allowing the secure and efficient movement of more imports and exports across the U.S.-Mexico border.”

#CPKC completes construction of second span of international rail bridge linking the U.S and Mexico at Laredo, a structure now known as the Patrick J. Ottensmeyer International Railway Bridge:  pic.twitter.com/p6LPFDqB9n

— CPKC (@CPKCrail) December 17, 2024

The bridge, which rests about 35 feet from the Laredo bridge, has 4,500 feet of new track. It’s named for Ottensmeyer, the last president and CEO of Kansas City Southern, which Canadian Pacific Railway purchased for $31 billion in 2021.

The Laredo crossing is one of four freight routes in Texas that connect Texas and Mexico. Additional crossings are in Brownsville, Eagle Pass and El Paso. The Brownsville crossing opened in 2015.

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