Columbia Solidarity bridge

[Mr. Plumo]

Anyone using this point of entry or exit to Mexico from time to time ?

Any comment ?

Thank you

[Rubia]

easy, not crowded, a little out of the way nw from laredo. hwy 1 and 2 in mex are in poor condition, lots of potholes first 30 miles or so. for some, mex 1 and 2 highways are a little isolated, translated, less safe. we have had no problems

[conejorapido]

Wouldn't use any other crossing going to San Antonio or points east

[jrod]

It's much less crowded than Bridge 2 Juárez-Lincoln crossing from Mexico to Texas and, therefore, the line at immigration is almost nil. So, a very big plus northbound. You do need a TX tolltag (ntta.org) once you cross: no cash.

We find southbound, however, to have its downside: it's not open 24-hrs a day so you delay till they open at 8 am crossing into Mexico. With the time change coming up here in 3 weeks here and the fewer hours of evening light, the later am cross requires driving in the dark part way if you make the trip in one day, as we do. And all cars get stopped and checked at customs, whereas your chances of getting red-lighted at Bridge 2 are almost nil these days and you can easily cross between 6-7 am and hit morning light as you pull out of Nuevo Laredo onto the cuota.

We use Colombia heading north; Bridge 2 heading south.

[Ezzie]

As mentioned above, I like to use Columbia for a northbound trip but the condition of the roads in northern Mexico leading up to it is a growing concern. Hwy. 1 has a short section that is in very bad condition (potholes) when you turn off the main road above Anahuac to head toward the bridge. Hwy. 85 libre between Monterrey and Nuevo Laredo (from the top of the toll road section to Hwy.2) is also in extremely poor condition now. Hopefully these areas will be repaired now that the rainy season is near an end. The toll road section leading from the Columbia crossing over to I35 cuts off a lot of time if heading on up the road to Austin/San Antonio and is unmanned. If you don't have Texas tags, you don't need to worry about paying to use it - no one has come after me yet!

For southbound crossings, I prefer (at the present time) to use the Pharr/Reynosa crossing since it is the easiest one I have experienced for dealing with both Aduana and INM along the eastern routes. From there you can take the much nicer Hwy. 40 toll road to Monterrey and Saltillo or take your chances (dodging banditos) on using the 97/101 free route through Cd. Victoria and then the toll roads on over to Hwy. 57 and then on to SLP.

[RickS]

Not to hijack the thread, but.....

If one is, after getting into the US, heading somewhere west or NW of San Antonio, another good option for a border crossing is at Piedras Negras/Eagle Pass Tx. Very good free roads after Saltillo (except for a very short cuota) and super easy TIP/Immigration outside of Piedras at Allende. Since Eagle Pass is smaller than Laredo, US customs is also much faster once across the river.

Follow highway 57 NW of Saltillo towards/through Monclova. That 2-lane road is very wide, newer and mostly straight as an arrow. Yes, it is a bit farther to drive in Mexico but I have made it from Lakeside in a (long) day. Stopping over in Monclova is the other option and this very clean town/city has many good motels/hotels/restaurants (even a Burger King... which is not a restaurant I know, but....). Drive straight through Monclova and don't take any bypasses regardless whether one is staying the night or just passing through.