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Laredo staff present rate study proposing phased toll increases to fund bridge expansions and technology upgrades
Summary
City staff told the Port-of-Entry committee that Laredo needs roughly $63 million in additional bridge revenue over four years to fund planned expansions and system upgrades, proposing phased increases and a 3% annual cost-of-living adjustment; industry members pressed staff for clearer vehicle-origin data and alternate scenarios, and the committee asked staff to return with more detail and a workshop before council review.
City Manager Joe Neeb and Finance Director Francis Scolmont presented a city-commissioned bridge rate study to the Port-of-Entry committee, saying the bridge system generated $89,032,617 in revenue last year and that the city estimates it will need roughly $152 million by year four to cover planned expansions and operating needs.
"Our current annual revenue for the bridge for this last year was $89,032,617," Neeb told the committee, and he added that the study’s baseline scenario requires about $63,180,908 in additional revenue over a four-year window to fund expansions and upgrades. Neeb described the staff proposal as a phased, three-year corrective structure with an annual, standardized 3% cost-of-living adjustment thereafter to avoid a single, large increase.
Scolmont told members the study uses three primary datasets — Webb County vehicle registrations, southbound bridge counts maintained by the city and U.S. Department of Transportation northbound…
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