Roma-Ciudad Miguel Aleman International Suspension Bridge
During the late 1920s, private investors financed the construction of several international suspension bridges across the Rio Grande River in the hope of stimulating commercial development in the lower Rio Grande Valley. Joseph Erastus Pate and the Starr County Bridge Company were responsible for the construction of several bridges in the area, however, the bridge between Roma, Texas, and Ciudad Miguel Aleman, Tamaulipas is the only survivor. Opened in 1928, the Roma Suspension bridge was taken out of service in 1979 when a new bridge was constructed.
Leaders at all levels in the U.S. and Mexico have been meeting for years to try to preserve the international bridge as a pedestrian crossing. Those efforts have been delayed due to the procedural differences between the U.S. and Mexican governments. While rehabilitation is not progressing, the bridge is considered an obstruction of the waterways and this threat creates a new risk for the bridge which cannot be ignored.
ADDRESS: Spur 29, off of US 83, Roma (Starr County)
DESIGNATION: SAL
STATUS: Endangered
RESOURCE TYPE: Transportation
YEAR LISTED: 2011
