Eagle Pass bridge board reports December revenue uptick, seeks fixes for parking machine and traffic delays
Loading...
Summary
Patricia Mancha, the new assistant bridge general manager, told the City of Eagle Pass Bridge Board the Port saw a roughly 20% revenue increase in December and rising commercial traffic. Board asked staff to pursue signage and fee changes for the parking lot and to request CBP data to understand lingering queue issues.
Patricia Mancha, the City of Eagle Pass’s new assistant bridge general manager, told the Bridge Board on Jan. 15 that December revenues rose to $2,395,569 — about a 20% increase from the prior-year figure she gave as 1,993,556 — and that year-to-date expenditures through December stood at $486,625. Mancha said capital spending has not yet begun against a capital budget of $10,682,655.
Mancha said operational fixes already under way include replacing door handles and installing locks and keys for toll booths at Bridge 2 to improve security for toll collectors. “We have purchased new doorknobs with keys and a locking mechanism and [are] working with our maintenance department to get those ... put into our toll booths and provide a little bit more security and safety for our toll collectors,” Mancha said.
On traffic patterns, Mancha reported commercial vehicle traffic in December increased about 34% and bus traffic roughly 19%, while pedestrian traffic fell by about 7.4%. She said commercial traffic drives much of port revenue and that staff are coordinating with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Mexican counterparts to smooth flows. Mancha told the board the city paid CBP to open Bridge One for 24-hour operations over parts of the holidays and said the city will request CBP’s operational data to identify which days are busiest.
Mancha also briefed the board on a federal enforcement operation she named as “Operation Irish Goodbye,” saying that local ICE activity with CBP contributed to some traffic disruptions. “That is a federal operation that the city does not have control over,” she said, adding the port will continue to work with CBP.
On parking, Mancha said intermittently failing pay machines in December forced several days of cashless-only operations; technicians replaced sensors and pads under warranty on Jan. 9 and the machine has run without malfunction since. She said lack of signage caused users to select “lost ticket” and incur a $70 fee; staff refund those charges when callers request it. The board asked Mancha to bring a recommendation about whether to change the $70 lost-ticket fee, and she agreed to return with a proposal and with signage and capacity-tracking options for the lot.
The board approved minutes from Sept. 19, 2025 earlier in the meeting. No formal votes were taken on the parking fee or signage at this session; board members directed staff to return with recommendations at a future meeting.
