Eagle Pass City Council Tables Awarding of Camino Real International Bridge Design Contract, Delaying Bridge Expansion Project
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2025
The City of Eagle Pass, Texas City Council voted to table Agenda Item No. 13 concerning the “awarding/rejection of Request for Qualifications (RFQ) #2025-028 Design Services for Camino Real International Bridge Expansion to LJA and authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement” by a split vote of 3 to 2 at their regular meeting held on Tuesday, September 9, 2025, further delaying the City’s development of the estimated $50 million expansion project of the Camino Real International Bridge from six to 12 lanes.
The City Council composed of Mayor Aaron Valdez, Mayor Pro-Tem William Davis, and Council members Mario E. Garcia, Jessica Rey Ramon, and Elias Diaz took Agenda Item No. 13 into Executive/Closed Session for discussion during the September 9th meeting. Upon returning to Open Session from Executive Session, Mayor Aaron Valdez called Agenda Item No. 13 for action and Councilman Mario E. Garcia made the motion to approve the awarding of the design services contract to LJA and Mayor Pro-Tem William Davis seconded the motion to approve. No discussion was held and upon calling the motion for a vote, Mayor Valdez, Councilwoman Ramon and Councilman Diaz voted against approving the contract. City Attorney Ana Sofia Garcia advised City Council that they could make any other motion.
Councilwoman Ramon then motioned to “reject” the awarding of Request for Qualifications (RFQ) #2025-028 for the Design Services for Camino Real International Bridge Expansion to LJA and “to rebid at a later time” and Councilman Diaz seconded the motion. Mayor Valdez called Agenda Item No. 13 for a vote and the motion to “reject” the awarding of the Design Services Contract to LJA passed initially with three votes in favor cast by Mayor Valdez, Councilwoman Ramon and Councilman Elias Diaz, while Mayor Pro-Tem Davis and Councilman Garcia voted against Ramon’s motion to reject the awarding of the design services contract to LJA.
After initially rejecting the awarding of the contract, City Attorney Ana Sophia Garcia advised City Council that they may make another motion if they elect to do so. At this moment, Mayor Pro-Tem William Davis interceded to caution the City Council that “I really think we need to really reconsider the timing of this because we don’t want to make sure we don’t postpone any longer this considering the climate of what’s going on with the bridge projects.”
Councilwoman Ramon proceeded to amend her motion from rejecting it to tabling it and Mayor Pro-Tem Davis seconded the amendment. Councilman Garcia stated that the City Council “should respect the Purchasing Department’s decision to allow LJA to continue with the project and we should respect the written wishes from the Government of Coahuila allowing us to decide which vendor and committing to pay us back based on a written letter from the Governor of Coahuila Manolo Jimenez.” Mayor Valdez called for a vote the amended motion to table Agenda Item No. 13 and the motion passed with a split 4-1 vote with Ramon, Davis, Diaz, and Mayor Valdez in favor while Garcia opposed the tabling motion.
The City Council’s decision to table Agenda Item No. 13 concerning the awarding of the design services contract for the expansion of Camino Real International Bridge further delays the City’s development and construction of the expansion project, which is already three to five years behind schedule. Every delay only adds additional costs to the expansion project. Initially, the estimated cost of the bridge expansion project was supposed to cost $20 million five years ago and today the City estimates it will cost taxpayers $50 million, plus an additional estimated $23 million for the realignment transportation project to widen and expand the roads leading to the expanded Camino Real Bridge, bringing the total estimated cost of the bridge expansion project up to $73 million. The City has received a $5 million grant from the federal government through Congressman Tony Gonzales five years ago, but with the Trump Administration denying previously funded projects it is uncertain if these $5 million will still be available.
The City of Eagle Pass will have to issue certificates of obligations (bonds) to cover the cost of the Camino Real International Bridge expansion project, which City taxpayers and bridge revenues will have to pay over the course of a long term period such as 30 years or so. City taxpayers cannot afford to be required to pay tens of millions of dollars of additional expansion bridge project costs as a result of the City’s continuous delays and inattention to the project.
City taxpayers have raised questions why the City Council seeks to delay the awarding of the design services contract to allow the Mexican partner, the State of Coahuila, direct input into the decision making process of which design company will be awarded the design services if the Governor of Coahuila Manolo Jimenez has written a letter supporting the City’s decision. Taxpayers question who does the City Council represent and work for—the State of Coahuila or the City of Eagle Pass taxpayers? Taxpayers have many questions if Eagle Pass is now controlled by Mexican interests or the City taxpayers.
Meanwhile, the City of Eagle Pass three to five year delay in expanding the Camino Real International Bridge from six to 12 lanes project has allowed Maverick County and a private investment group to seek and obtain a Presidential Permit to design and build two international bridges immediately outside the northern city limits in Seco Mines and Hopedale, including a railroad bridge and line through Seco Mines and a commercial vehicle bridge through Hopedale.
Furthermore, the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas has applied and made plans for designing and building a motor vehicle international bridge on real property at or near its reservation in southern Maverick County and in Nava, Coahuila, Mexico. The Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas has requested the City of Eagle Pass for a resolution in support of its international bridge project.
Both the Maverick County and private investment group and the proposed Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas international bridges will compete against the City taxpayers-owned Camino Real International Bridge and International Bridge No. 1 in the near future, possibly reducing the City’s revenues from its two international bridges and golden goose egg that pays for the City’s annual fiscal budgets. On the other hand, more international bridges might bring more industry, jobs, economic development, and revenues for all the entities.
The City of Eagle Pass cannot afford to delay its expansion bridge project as each day that passes, the cost of the project is simply increasing exponentially. Hence, Mayor Pro-Tem Davis’s wise, experienced, business savvy, and sound advice to his City Council members—Timing is of the essence.
