Crossing the International Bridge over the Rio Grande to Cd. Aleman...

Cd. Miguel Alemán is located directly across the Rio Grande River from Roma, Texas. Cd. Alemán is reached by crossing the river over the Roma-Ciudad Miguel Alemán International Bridge, which serves as a port of entry between Mexico and the United States. The bridge is open 24 for hours a day, 365 days of the year. The suspension bridge was built in 1928, and is registered as a historic structure by both countries, and it carries both vehicular and pedestrian traffic.

Photo: I'm standing in Roma, Texas, looking across the Rio Grande River, with Cd. Alemán, Tamaulipas on the other side of the river. The International Bridge, and the border crossing, is to the left of the photo.

Wednesday, October 4, 2006, my buddies Jerry, Dick and I took the plunge, and drove across the bridge, to spend some time, exploring Cd. Alemán. From Roma, Texas, it's easy, as you simply head south on Bravo Blvd., which is the main street in town, until you come to the river. Despite the fact that the Rio Grande River, (known as Rio Bravo in Mexico) divides the two countries, it's not at all impressive, and it only takes a few seconds to cross the river. The international boundary is the deep part in the channel, which varies, so the boundary markers are placed at the middle of the bridge. Once in Mexico, you first stop at the toll plaza to pay the toll of MEX $20.00 for a vehicle, MEX $5.00 if you're on foot, and then its time to visit Mexican customs. In our case, and most cases, we were waved through by a bored-looking agent, who seemed more interested in looking at a couple of good looking girls who happened to be crossing the bridge, over to the U.S. side of the river.

Photo: This is the toll plaza, where you pay your $2.00 toll before crossing the river into Mexico.

Photo: We've just paid our toll, and are about ready to cross the bridge, into Mexico. The International Bridge offers 2-way traffic across the river. Note the pedestrian to the right of the photo.

From customs, you go up a little hill, as the town is built on a low bluff, overlooking the river. You're now on Av. Emiliano Zapata, which is a one-way street that runs south to north, and at Calle Premira, which is the first cross street encountered after entering Mexico, the street splits, and you head south on Zapata, and the northbound traffic, heading towards the U.S.A., is on Av. Hidalgo.

Photo: The dots on the pavement mark the international boundary, which we're about ready to cross.

The area between First Street and the bridge is known as Puente Internacionál, and it sports a number of street food vendors, pedaling their wares from small carts, trailers, and modified tricycles. We noticed other street vendors as well, particularly one enterprising fellow hawking wind chimes, who tried to pedal his wares to us as were stopped at a stop sign.

Photo: Approaching Mexican customs, taken out of the windshield of Jerry's truck. The custom officials just waved us through.

Photo: Here's the first look we had of Cd. Alemán, as the photo was taken at the corner of Av. Zapata and Calle Premira, just after climbing up the bluff from Mexican customs.

We didn't cross back into the U.S. at Cd. Alemán, but we did notice that there were a couple of lines of cars waiting their turn at customs, but each line only had a few cars, so the wait would be minimal. The return trip across the bridge into the U.S. will cost you $2.00 if you're driving, and $.50 if you're on foot. During the time of our visit, the border crossing wasn't busy, and most Texas-Mexico border crossing aren't busy, with the exception of the crossings between El Paso and Cd. Juárez, which seem to be always busy.

Photo: This entrepreneur attempted to sell us wind chimes as we explored the area around the border. He was quite convincing, and quite enterprising, (maybe hungry? ...) but what did I need wind chimes for?

The border crossing between Roma and Cd. Alemán is quick and painless, plus, you get a chance to peer down into the green water of the mighty Rio Grande River!

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