City of Laredo Prepares for River Crest, Will Close Bridge I Today

Written by admin, Jul 7, 2010, 0 Comments

Courtesy Xochitl Mora,

Bridge closure will affect pedestrians immediately

Laredo, TX—July 7, 2010, 9:30 a.m.— With a pending crest of the Rio Grande of almost 39 feet to hit Laredo and Nuevo Laredo tomorrow at noon, City and immigration officials from both the City of Laredo, Texas, USA and the City of Nuevo Laredo, Tamp/Mexico have made a joint decision to close International Bridge I TODAY, Wednesday, July 7, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. to both pedestrians and vehicles for both the safety of individuals and to protect the structural integrity of the bridge. The closure will last approximately three days, or 72 hours. Bridge II, World Trade Bridge and Colombia Bride will remain open.

The immediate bridge closure is to safely remove part of the steel canopies that were recently constructed on the bridge to provide shade and shelter to pedestrians. However, the added weight and stress of these structures, coupled with the higher than expected crest of the bridge may cause an unsafe hazard to the bridge structure. The bridge closure will include one day to remove the structures, one day for the closure, and another day to replace the structures.

Pedestrians who have no other alternative to reach Nuevo Laredo are encouraged to return immediately or make arrangements to travel by vehicle by Bridge II. Bridge II will NOT accept pedestrians to return to Nuevo Laredo. Colombia Bridge and World Trade Bridge can accept pedestrians.

All southbound traveling buses will be routed to Colombia Bridge for processing and the bridge is currently prepared to stay open 24 hours, to process bus traffic only, between 12:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. Thursday, July 8, 2010 (Wednesday midnight). However, recent reports indicate that the river crest at Colombia may also be higher than anticipated and that crest could also affect the structural integrity of the bridge. Authorities will continue to monitor the situation and will notify the media and public immediately if the bridge must be closed.

The City of Laredo will activate their Emergency Operation Center today at 2:00 p.m. Residents who live in the 100-year floodplain will be notified by Reverse 9-1-1 to evacuate, if necessary. Authorities are monitoring the situation and will determine if the Laredo Civic Center will need to be converted into a shelter. If that decision is made, authorities will notify the media and the public immediately.

Most importantly to note also, for residents of both sides of the river is that both municipalities will continue to offer uninterrupted water service to all residents. Residents in Laredo will see no impact to their water service; while citizens of Nuevo Laredo will have water service at 50% operating capacity, according to Mexican city authorities.

Residents are asked to stay away from the flooded river banks and to not go around any barriers blocking closed intersections. Those who violate these barriers or travel to the dangerous flooded area are putting themselves and emergency personnel at risk and will be arrested. The Texas National Guard will be called in to assist with monitoring intersections and the flooded areas.

Local Authorities will continue to monitor situation and hold meetings with stakeholders to review updates and take necessary action.

IMG_2709-2