Bridge of the Americas (El Paso–Ciudad Juárez)

The Bridge of the Americas (BOTA) is a group of international bridges which cross the Rio Grande (Río Bravo) and Texas State Highway Loop 375, connecting the Mexico–United States border cities of Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua and El Paso, Texas, via the MX 45 (known as Avenida de las Américas in its Ciudad Juárez section) from the south and the I-110 from the north, crossing the El Paso BOTA Port of Entry. The bridge is colloquially known as "Puente Libre" in Ciudad Juárez, officially as "Puente Internacional Córdova-Las Américas" or "Puente Internacional Córdova de las Américas", and also known as "Puente Río Bravo", "Cordova Bridge" and "Free Bridge".[1]

Bridge of the Americas

Puente Río Bravo
The Bridge of the Americas as seen from El Paso, Texas in June 2016.
Coordinates31°45′53″N 106°27′04″W
Carries Fed. 45/ I-110, pedestrians
CrossesRio Grande
Loop 375
LocaleEl Paso–Ciudad Juárez
Official namePuente Internacional Córdova-Las Américas
Other name(s)Cordova Bridge
Named forThe Americas
OwnerCity of El Paso
History
Construction start1996
Construction end1998
Statistics
TollNone
Location

Description
U.S.-bound traffic exiting the bridge in June 2002.

The Bridge of the Americas consists of two bridges, actually four separate structures: two two-lane bridges for truck traffic, northbound and southbound, and two four-lane bridges for passenger vehicles, with two sidewalks for pedestrians. The bridge is one of four international points of entry connecting Ciudad Juárez and El Paso, forming the binational metropolitan area of El Paso–Juárez, alongside the Ysleta–Zaragoza International Bridge, Paso del Norte Bridge and Stanton Street Bridge.[2]

History

The bridges were constructed from 1996 to 1998. The bridge is owned by the International Boundary and Water Commission, and operated in its American section by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and its Mexican section by Mexican Customs.[1] It is only one of five bridges connecting Mexico and the United States from Ciudad Juárez,[3] and to date (i.e. 2015), is the only one that is toll free (hence the name Puente Libre).

Border crossing
Main article: El Paso BOTA Port of Entry

The El Paso BOTA Port of Entry is El Paso's highest volume border crossing, carrying more than half the vehicles (trucks and passenger cars) entering El Paso, Texas from Mexico.[4]

  • The 2013 American drama television series The Bridge is set on the Bridge of the Americas and surrounding areas.[5][6]
  • The bridge is featured in the 2015 film Sicario.

See also

References
  1. "Texas-Mexico International Bridges and Border Crossings: Existing and Proposed (2013)" Archived 2014-02-03 at the Wayback Machine, Texas Department of Transportation [accessed 2015-08-04]
  2. "The Borderplex Alliance –". El Paso Regional Economic Development Corporation. 2013. Archived from the original on September 18, 2013. Retrieved September 22, 2013.
  3. "Puentes Internacionales Ciudad Juárez", Google Maps.
  4. "Border Crossing Travel Time Study, FINAL Study Report, Volume I: TxDOT El Paso District". RJ RIVERA Associates, Inc. for Texas Department of Transportation, Transportation Planning and Programming Division. Archived from the original on 26 December 2008. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
  5. Sepinwall, Alan (July 8, 2013). "'The Bridge' producer Meredith Stiehm on translating Denmark/Sweden into U.S./Mexico". HitFix. Retrieved July 24, 2013.
  6. The Bridge (TV Series 2013—) at IMDb


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