Flood-swept border buoys turned a Laredo international crossing into a massive trade bottleneck, with traffic delays eventually topping 500 minutes and an estimated $600 million in merchandise movement interrupted. The disruption began after high water pushed barriers toward bridge supports, forcing crews to halt traffic while contractors worked in the Rio Grande.
The City of Laredo temporarily suspended commercial traffic at the World Trade Bridge as a safety precaution and diverted truckers toward the Colombia Solidarity Bridge, according to KGNS. Officials also restricted access to several riverside areas as floating debris, high water and strong currents created additional hazards.
The barriers originated near Eagle Pass, where recent flooding swept approximately 55 buoys that were being deployed by a federal contractor into the Rio Grande. Some traveled more than 100 miles downstream toward Laredo, according to News 4 San Antonio.
Crews Had To Return For More Buoys
The World Trade Bridge reopened after crews removed buoys and debris, but additional barriers were later found lodged near the bridge infrastructure. The Laredo Morning Times reported that contractors briefly halted traffic again Monday morning while they finished the retrieval operation.
The scale of the interruption became clearer in a local update this week. Laredo Mayor Víctor Treviño said delays exceeded 500 minutes and interrupted the movement of an estimated $600 million in merchandise, a major hit for a border crossing that handles a large share of North American commercial traffic, as reported by News 4 San Antonio.
Flooding Raised Fresh Questions About Border Barrier Planning
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the buoys remained under the contractor’s control and had not been transferred to Border Patrol custody. The agency also said there were no reported injuries or major bridge damage, according to KGNS.
Rep. Henry Cuellar criticized CBP, the Department of Homeland Security and the contractors, saying local governments had warned federal officials about the rising river. He also questioned whether contractors should reimburse Laredo for costs tied to the bridge shutdown, News 4 San Antonio reported.
The bridge has since returned to service after inspections and removal work, but the episode left unresolved questions about recovery costs, contractor oversight and whether future buoy deployments can withstand rapidly changing river conditions. Federal planning documents described the barriers as capable of handling flooding and rising water, though many of the buoys involved here had not yet been fully anchored when the river swept them away.
