McALLEN, Texas (Border Report) — A new international railroad bridge connecting the South Texas border town of Laredo to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, is complete, the company says.

Canadian railway holding company Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) says the binational section of railroad over the Rio Grande connecting the two countries has been built and will be an important component in trade and commerce for the region.

It’s the second railroad bridge to connect the two countries in Laredo at this part of the Southwest border.

“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,” CPKC President and CEO Keith Creel said in a statement. “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.”

“By linking expanding markets for our customers, this CPKC investment will accelerate growth between the industrial heartland of Mexico and points across the United States and Canada,” Creel said.

The project has been under construction since late 2022 and will be called the Patrick J. Ottensmeyer International Railway Bridge. Its name honors Kansas City Southern’s last president and CEO Patrick J. Ottensmeyer, who died in July.

“Pat’s leadership and vision were instrumental in the development and successful completion of this project,” Creel said. “His legacy lives on in the work we do at CPKC each and every day, enabling growing international trade across three great nations – Canada, the United States and Mexico.”

The new $100 million rail bridge is 1,170 feet long and built on the right-of-way about 35 feet from the existing rail track bridge — allowing trains to operate in both directions into both countries at the same time.

Kansas City Southern owns the other international trail bridge and when it began this project, Ottensmeyer said during an Oct. 31, 2022, ground-breaking ceremony that it would “meet the needs of North American commerce in the future.”

Oscar Del Cueto Cuevas, president and general manager of the railroad company Kansas City Southern de Mexico, in 2022 told Border Report that at the time the railroad bridge was operating 28 to 32 trains per day “and the expectation with this new span is to double the number of trains we can interchange. It’s very important for both countries.”

The new rail bridge also has VACIS X-ray railcar inspection systems and surveillance cameras for border security, the company says.

Sandra Sanchez can be reached at SSanchez@BorderReport.com.