DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Hidalgo-Reynosa Bridges — and friend, this one's got more layers than the Rio Grande has bends. Way back in 1852, when Hidalgo County was just gettin' its footing, a little village sat right here at this crossing. They called it Edinburgh back then, and it wore the crown as the new county seat.
Already, a ferry was workin' the water between this village and Reynosa, Mexico, shuttling folks and goods back and forth across that river like it was the most natural thing in the world — which, out here, it was. By 1861, Edinburgh had traded its name for Hidalgo. Whether the town changed or the times did, the river stayed the same, and so did the need to cross it.
Then in 1910, a man named Crisoforo Vela — born in 1856, and he'd live all the way to 1932 — stepped up and inaugurated regular ferry service at this spot. He started with rowboats. Just men and oars and a whole lot of current.
Eventually he graduated to something more like raft-like conveyances, which sounds humble, but don't you underestimate what it meant to the people on both banks. That ferry kept running, year after year, until 1926 — when a man named Joe Pate went and erected a bridge. A suspension bridge, right here.
Now, a suspension bridge hanging over the Rio Grande sounds romantic. And for a few years, maybe it was. But in 1933, floods came and damaged it.
They rebuilt it. They strengthened it. Seemed like they'd licked the problem.
They had not licked the problem. In 1939, the cable anchors on the U.S. side failed to hold, and that bridge — rebuilt, strengthened, standing proud — fell into the river and was destroyed. The Rio Grande had the last word, same as it usually does.
But here's the thing about a river crossing: people still need to cross. So the very next year, a second suspension bridge was erected right here. That one lasted long enough to be purchased by the city of McAllen in 1960, and from that point on, McAllen, Hidalgo, and Mexican interests operated the crossing jointly.
International cooperation, sealed with a handshake and a toll booth. Then on June 1, 1967, a four-lane prestressed concrete bridge opened to traffic — something that wasn't about to fall into any river. By 1971, the old suspension bridge had been removed for salvage.
Its work was done. And in 1988, construction was completed on yet another four-lane bridge, because this crossing had grown into something the rowboats of 1910 could never have imagined. Over six decades of bridges, operated together by McAllen, Hidalgo, and Mexican interests since 1960 — facilitating transportation, fostering cooperation, building friendship between Texas and Mexico one crossing at a time.
It started with a man in a rowboat and a river that didn't ask anyone's permission. And it's still going.
What the marker says
At the time of the formation of Hidalgo County in 1852, the village located here, originally named Edinburgh, became the new county seat. A ferry service was operating between the village and Reynosa, Mexico. By 1861 the town's name was changed to Hidalgo, and regular ferry service was inaugurated in 1910 by Crisoforo Vela (1856-1932). First using rowboats and, later, raft-like conveyances, the ferry continued in operation until Joe Pate erected a bridge here in 1926. The 1926 suspension bridge was damaged by floods in 1933. Although rebuilt and strengthened, it fell into the river and was destroyed in 1939 after cable anchors on the U.S. side failed to hold. A second suspension bridge was erected the following year and purchased by the city of McAllen in 1960. A four-lane prestressed concrete bridge was opened to traffic on June 1, 1967. The suspension bridge was removed for salvage in 1971. Construction of an additional four-lane bridge was completed in 1988. For over six decades, the Hidalgo-Reynosa bridges, operated jointly by McAllen, Hidalgo, and Mexican interests since 1960, have facilitated transportation and fostered international cooperation and friendship between Texas and Mexico. (1989)