LAREDO, Texas –As the third construction phase at the Juarez-Lincoln International Bridge begins, U.S. Customs and Border Protection port management is advising the traveling public that all vehicular traffic at the bridge will shift westward toward the new vehicle processing building at 11:59 p.m. on May 7.
“We wanted to give the traveling public advance warning that vehicular traffic at Juarez-Lincoln Bridge will be routed to the new vehicle processing facility on May 8,” said Port Director Albert Flores, Laredo Port of Entry. “The eastern canopy will soon be demolished in the third construction phase and the routing of the traffic to the new processing facility would have pushed SENTRI users toward the back of the line of traffic transiting the facility. This is why we have mutually agreed to shift the SENTRI and Ready Lane traffic to Gateway to the Americas Bridge.”
the westward shift of vehicular traffic that will
take effect at 11:59 p.m. on May 7.
To mitigate this adverse impact to service for SENTRI participants, CBP, in coordination with Government of Mexico and municipal stakeholder partners determined the best course of action was to shift the SENTRI traffic flow to the Gateway to the Americas Bridge. Since vehicular traffic resumed at the Gateway to the Americas Bridge at midnight on April 29, SENTRI and READY Lane participants have had the opportunity to experience the swift and professional service provided by CBP officers at the newly renovated bridge.
SENTRI users will be able to continue to use the SENTRI lane at Juarez-Lincoln Bridge for a 30-day grace period through May 29, in order to enable a smooth transition to the new location. The shifting of vehicular traffic to the new vehicle processing building on the western side of the port starting on May 8 will push SENTRI traffic toward the rear of traffic transiting the facility and CBP is anticipating that this will speed the transition of the remaining SENTRI traffic to Gateway to the Americas Bridge. On May 30, all SENTRI traffic will be processed at Gateway to the Americas Bridge.
CBP, in coordination with our Government of Mexico and municipal stakeholders have made the required modifications to the facility to ensure both SENTRI and Ready Lane vehicular traffic are processed in a timely manner. Frequent travelers who are enrolled in the trusted traveler program or have obtained radiofrequency identification (RFID) technology-equipped entry documents, may utilize the vehicular lanes located at the Gateway to the Americas Bridge.
Radiofrequency identification (RFID)-enabled entry documents include U.S. passport cards, border crossing cards and resident alien cards issued since 2011. Mexico’s Caminos y Puentes Federales (CAPUFE) assures that those already enrolled in SENTRI and who have paid their toll fees will be able to transfer seamlessly to cross at Gateway to the Americas Bridge.
CBP strongly encourages travelers to obtain RFID-enabled entry documents to use Ready Lanes and enroll in trusted traveler programs. For more information, please visit https://ttp.cbp.dhs.gov/ for complete information about CBP’s Trusted Traveler Programs.