[Federal Register: June 15, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 114)]
[Notices]               
[Page 32085-32086]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr15jn99-109]

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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice No. 3060]

 
Office of Mexican Affairs; Notice of Issuance of an Amended 
Presidential Permit for the Laredo Northwest International Bridge 
(Bridge IV), Laredo, TX

AGENCY: Department of State.

ACTION: Notice of Issuance of an Amended Presidential Permit for the 
Laredo Nortwhest International Bridge (Bridge IV), Laredo, Texas.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Department of State has issued 
an Amended Presidential Permit for the Laredo Northwest International 
Bridge (Bridge IV) project sponsored by the City of Laredo, Texas. The 
amended permit was issued April 12, 1999 pursuant to the International 
Bridge Act of 1972 (33 U.S.C. 535 et seq.) and Executive Order 11423 of 
1968, as amended by Executive Order 12847 of 1993.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Presidential Permit may be obtained from Mr. 
David E. Randolph, Coordinator, U.S.-Mexico Border Affairs, Office of 
Mexican Affairs, Room 4258, Department of State, Washington, DC 20520, 
telephone (202) 647-8529.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice of the application by the City of 
Laredo, Texas for a permit to build a new bridge, with access road, to 
be constructed across the Rio Grande River between Laredo, Texas and 
Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico was published in the Federal Register 
on October 3, 1991

[[Page 32086]]

at 56 FR 50148. Notice of issuance of the Presidential Permit and 
Finding of No Significant Impact was published in the Federal Register 
on November 16, 1994 at 59 FR 59267. The bridge will carry pedestrian 
and commercial traffic, and is intended to relieve the traffic burden 
on existing bridges in the downtown area. As a condition for the 
Presidential Permit, the City of Laredo has agreed to route all 
commercial traffic to this new bridge or to the Colombia Bridge, which 
connects the City of Laredo to the State of Nuevo Leon. Further, the 
City has agreed that all hazardous materials will be directed to the 
Colombia Bridge, where the U.S. Customs Service operates a hazardous 
materials containment facility. The new bridge is needed because the 
two existing international bridges between downtown Laredo and Nuevo 
Laredo cannot accommodate additional traffic without further safety and 
environmental degradation. The permit was amended to specify that the 
permit holder (City of Laredo) is authorized to align the approach road 
to the bridge in accordance with any of four alternatives that have 
been found to have no significant environmental impact.
    The application for the Amended Presidential Permit was reviewed 
and approved by numerous federal, state and local agencies. The final 
application and environmental assessment were reviewed and approved or 
accepted by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, General 
Services Administration, Department of Interior, Department of 
Agriculture, Department of Commerce, U.S. Customs Service, U.S. Coast 
Guard, Federal Highway Administration, Food and Drug Administration, 
International Boundary and Water Commission--U.S. Section, Department 
of Defense, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of 
State and the appropriate Texas State Agencies--the Parks and Wildlife 
Department, the Department of Transportation, the Historical Commission 
and the Natural Resource Conservation Commission.

    Dated: June 9, 1999.
David E. Randolph,
Coordinator, U.S.-Mexico Border Affairs, Office of Mexican Affairs.
[FR Doc. 99-15140 Filed 6-14-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-29-P