Roma-San Pedro International Bridge
Roma, Starr County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Erected by the Starr County Bridge Company, this single span steel suspension bridge was built over the Rio Grande in 1928. This is the only surviving suspension bridge constructed on the international border of the United States and Mexico. The 700-foot long steel bridge was designed by engineer George Cole of Houston, and built by Joseph Erastus Pate. It represents an early business enterprise between the United States and Mexico. This crossing point has been in continuous use from prehistoric times to the present. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1996
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Built over the Rio Grande in 1928 by the Starr County Bridge Company, this single-span steel suspension bridge linked Roma, Texas, with San Pedro, Mexico. Designed by Houston engineer George Cole and built by Joseph Erastus Pate, its 700-foot span is the only surviving suspension bridge on the U.S.–Mexico border. The crossing it served has been in use, the marker notes, since long before the bridge existed.
Why it matters
As a rare surviving international suspension bridge, it stands for the deep commercial and human ties across the Rio Grande and the enterprise that bound two nations at the border.
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Related people
- · George Cole
- · Joseph Erastus Pate
Themes & tags
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