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City staff presents toll-rate study recommending per-axle increase to fund bridge expansions
Summary
Assistant Finance Director Ruby Solano presented a practicum recommending phased toll increases to cover an estimated $150 million of unfunded bridge expansion costs and an annual debt-service estimate of about $13 million; the presentation was for council consideration, not a formal vote.
Assistant Finance Director Ruby Solano presented a practicum at the City of Laredo CPM session recommending raised bridge tolls to fund planned expansion of the World Trade and Columbia international bridges.
Solano said the study is intended as an informational road map for the city to use when it is ready to act. "My practicum is gonna be in finding strategies and revenue sources to aid the fiscal health in Laredo. My focus is the potential increase of bridge toll rates," she said. She emphasized the analysis used actual 2024 figures rather than economic projections.
The study reviewed southbound toll revenue and traffic data for fiscal years 2021–2024 and compared Laredo rates with other Texas border ports of entry. Solano…
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