The long-planned expansion of the World Trade Bridge in Laredo is expected to take a major step forward in 2026, bringing the project closer to full construction and promising significant improvements to the flow of commercial traffic at the nation’s busiest inland port.
The project calls for a new bridge span dedicated to northbound commercial vehicles, along with a redesign of how trucks enter and move through U.S. Customs and Border Protection inspection facilities after crossing from Mexico.
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Federal approval has already been secured, and local officials say coordination with Mexican authorities and federal agencies continues as environmental reviews and engineering work advance.
CBP Port Director Alberto Flores said the current configuration forces trucks into sharp turns and lane reductions immediately after crossing the bridge, creating delays during peak hours.
“It causes quite a disruption to the actual natural flow of the trucks coming into the facility,” Flores said.
Under the proposed redesign, trucks would follow a straight, linear path from the bridge directly into CBP inspection systems, eliminating several merges and turns that now slow processing.
“Now with this off-the-bridge approach, straight into our technology, we’re hoping that it’s going to make us a lot more efficient in the way we process trucks,” Flores said.
The new layout would route vehicles through multi-energy scanning portals while they are still in motion, allowing officers to review cargo images before trucks reach primary inspection booths.
“That’s going to help us get those trucks back into commerce,” Flores said. “Most of these trucks are lawful traders that just want to come through the bridge and get where they need to go.”
CBP officials emphasized that the expansion will complement existing trusted-shipper initiatives. About 30% of the roughly 8,000 trucks processed daily already use dedicated fast lanes through the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program.
The agency has also dramatically increased its use of scanning technology. Prior to installation of the multi-energy portals, only 13% to 15% of cargo was scanned each day. That figure has now climbed to more than 40%, according to Flores.
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The upgrades come as Laredo continues to dominate U.S.–Mexico trade. More than 3 million trucks crossed the port in 2024. Volumes dipped slightly in 2025—by roughly 35,000 trucks—but officials expect a rebound.
“We’ll recover eventually,” Flores said. “The whole tariff thing will eventually settle down. Overall, we did well because we collected a whole lot more revenue, so it’ll be interesting to see how that trend continues.”
Local leaders view the expansion as critical to maintaining Laredo’s role as a global trade hub. The World Trade Bridge handles the majority of commercial crossings in the region, supporting thousands of logistics, warehousing, and transportation jobs.
City officials have noted that delays at the bridge ripple across supply chains, affecting manufacturers from the U.S. Midwest to central Mexico. The redesign is expected to cut idling times, reduce emissions from stopped trucks, and improve safety for drivers and inspectors.
Planning work remains underway, with CBP coordinating alongside consultants hired by the City of Laredo to complete environmental and design requirements.
If those steps proceed as scheduled, officials say construction could begin in late 2026, with completion targeted for late 2027—a milestone that would mark the most significant upgrade to the crossing since its original opening.
Originally reported by Jose De La Rosa, Staff Writer in LMT Online.
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