30 Oct Nuevo León halves added state toll on trucks headed to Laredo’s Colombia bridge

Nuevo León will cut state toll charges on the Mexican approach to the Colombia Solidarity International Bridge by 50%, according to the Laredo Morning Times, a step officials say is aimed at attracting more truck traffic along the Colombia-Laredo route.

The cut was announced Wednesday as Laredo Mayor Victor Treviño met at Puerto Colombia with Nuevo León Gov. Samuel García Sepúlveda and Jalisco Gov. Pablo Lemus Navarro to discuss trade ties among the two Mexican states and Laredo. It covers charges collected before trucks reach the bridge and does not affect tolls set by the city of Laredo.

The charge being reduced is a second state toll that Nuevo León began collecting April 14, 2025, at a booth roughly 500 meters ahead of the bridge’s current tollbooth, which means trucks headed for Laredo pay twice. Treviño had opposed the added charge as a possible obstacle to growing trade along the route.

Officials said lower costs should encourage shippers to use the crossing, and they described the agreement as a way to position the bridge as an entry point into U.S. markets for Mexican manufacturers, farm producers and logistics firms. Treviño said cooperation with Mexican partners can lower transportation costs and strengthen Laredo’s role as a trade gateway, and he thanked García and Lemus for their support. Officials called the effort part of a wider Jalisco-Nuevo León-Laredo trade corridor.

The toll cut comes as Nuevo León pursues a larger project at the crossing. García has proposed a $200 million expansion that would add an export bridge and an import bridge, each with four lanes, doubling the crossing’s capacity from eight lanes to 16, according to the Nuevo León government. The state expects construction to begin in May 2027, with Texas and Nuevo León each putting up $100 million. It is unclear whether Texas authorities have approved the funding, and in April 2025 Nuevo León said a U.S. presidential permit was the remaining federal authorization needed.

García reported in February that the number of trucks crossing each day had risen from roughly 300 in 2021 to 7,000, and he has set a goal of roughly 15,000 a day by 2030.