We drive north frequently; prefer the San Luis Potosi route; take the west bypass (49D). We stay at the Sheraton 4 points hotel in Saltillo; nice hotel with restaurant and it is pet friendly.
There are 3 crossings at Laredo; Bridge 1 is usually the shortest wait time but it is Sentri lane only, Bridge 2 (the busiest), and Columbia. Get the CBP Border Wait Time app for your phone and check the wait times before you get to the Columbia cutoff and make a decision. I have used all 3; Bridge 1 and 2 are both accessible without going through the center of Nuevo Laredo, use the road along the river to the east. Columbia is a reasonable crossing if you are going directly north without visiting Laredo.
Google maps has good routing to all 3 bridges.
Just a note that you can use Global Entry in the Sentri lane as long as the vehicle is registered in Global Entry; I doubt that you can use Nexus.