CPKC Completes Laredo-Nuevo Laredo Rail Bridge; Capacity to Double

Construction began in late 2022 and required $100 million.

Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) has completed construction of the new section of the international rail bridge over the Rio Grande from Laredo, Texas, to Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, which will double its capacity between Mexico and the United States and required an investment of 100 million dollars.

“The completion of this internationally significant project more than doubles our cross-border freight capacity at North America’s largest international trade gateway,” said Keith Creel, the company’s president and CEO.

He said this project is important because it keeps Laredo-Nuevo Laredo at the center of North American trade, allowing for the safe and efficient movement of more imports and exports across the border.

“By connecting expanding markets for our customers, this CPKC investment will accelerate growth between the industrial heartland of Mexico and points in the United States and Canada,” Creel added.

Kansas City Southern (KCS) broke ground on the project in late 2022 to accommodate growing trade between the two countries. The rail bridge will now be known as the Patrick J. Ottensmeyer International Rail Bridge , in honor of KCS’s late chairman and CEO, Patrick J. Ottensmeyer, who passed away in July 2024.

Creel said Pat’s leadership and vision were instrumental in the development and successful completion of this project. “His legacy lives on in the work we do at CPKC every day, enabling the growth of international trade between Canada, the United States and Mexico,” he said.

The completion of this $100 million rail and bridge project expands the capacity of the U.S.-Mexico rail trade corridor.

Main features of the Ottensmeyer Bridge:

New second track bridge with a total length of 1,170 feet.
Plate girder bridge with ballasted deck built with six reinforced concrete piers.
Second track bridge built in the right-of-way approximately 35 feet from the existing track bridge, allowing trains to run in both directions at the same time.
4,500 feet of new track.
Increased investments in border security, including a new VACIS X-ray railcar inspection system and surveillance cameras. The Ottensmeyer Bridge is the only rail bridge across the Rio Grande linking Laredo and Nuevo Laredo across the international border. The U.S. presidential permit for the construction of the new bridge span was received in July 2020.