The City of Laredo held a ribbon cutting on Tuesday to celebrate the recent opening of an overpass.

Officials gathered to cut the ribbon officially opening the United States 59 Loop 20 lanes that run over Interstate Highway 35 and the Union Pacific Railroad Line.

Cost of the project was more than $25.8 million, according to the City of Laredo. Funding consisted of more than $18.74 million coming from the federal level – $18.53 million in federal funds and $204,804 in coordinated border infrastructure – and more than $7.06 million from the state – $4.63 million in state highway funds and $2.43 million in Proposition 1 state funds.

The overpass project was constructed by SER Construction Partners of Houston over a 25-month period after starting Nov. 2017. It was opened to traffic for the first time a few days ago.

“I’m proud to have fought for and secured over $18 million for this project and want to thank the Texas Department of Transportation, City of Laredo, Webb County and the Webb County-City of Laredo Regional Mobility Authority for their assistance in making this overpass a main priority,” said Congressman Henry Cuellar in a release. “This will greatly improve travel within our community, as well as improve the commute for those who travel to and from the US-Mexico border.

“As a member of the Appropriations Committee, I will continue to ensure that federal funding is being used to enhance our district’s infrastructure and roadways.”

With the overpass completed, traffic now is uninterrupted from International Boulevard to the entrance of the World Trade International Bridge.

As part of the planned Milo Interchange, five direct connectors out of eight still have yet to be completed. The city says Texas Department of Transportation has funding for three of those, as two will get bids for construction in 2020 and the other in 2023.

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