Gateway International Bridge

Not to be confused withGateway to the Americas International Bridge.

Gateway International Bridge
Gateway International Bridge as pictured from International Blvd. inBrownsville, Texasin 2006
Coordinates	25°53′54″N97°29′50″W
Locale	Brownsville, Texas
Other name(s)	The New Bridge
Owner	Cameron County
Maintained by	Cameron County
Location

Gateway International Bridgeis one of three international bridges that cross theU.S.-Mexico borderbetween the cities ofBrownsville, Texas,andMatamoros, Tamaulipas.It is owned and operated byCameron County.Over the past century, it has developed the nickname of "The New Bridge"(Spanish:Puente Nuevo) when the bridge was remodeled back in the 20th century. Despite the fact that theVeteran's International Bridgeis newer than Gateway, it still retains its nickname.

This international bridge unites theMatamoros–Brownsville Metropolitan Area,which counts with a population of 1,136,995,making it the4th largest metropolitan areain the Mexico-US border.

The bridge circa 1950

Location

Gateway is located in Downtown Brownsville and a block from theUniversity of Texas at Brownsville.It is the most used international bridge in the city for pedestrian crossings. People on theUSside wanting to go toMexicocan simply park their car on the US side, walk over to Mexico and have access to several tourist attractions in Matamoros. People on the Mexican side are able to walk over to the United States and have access to hundreds of retail outlets in Downtown Brownsville.

Brownsville Urban System,Brownsville's Mass Transit system, has its central bus station located three blocks from Gateway.

Border crossing

Main article:Brownsville Gateway Port of Entry

The Brownsville Gateway Port of Entry opened in 1926 with the completion of the Gateway International Bridge. All truck traffic has been prohibited since 1999.