County Toll Bridge System Maintains Bond Rating with Stable Outlook

Fitch Rating Company affirmed its “A” Bond rating for Cameron County’s International Toll Bridge System. In its statement the company announced, the Ratings Outlook remains “stable”.

Fitch went on to say, “the rating reflects the bridge systems relative importance to the service area, albeit susceptible to economic cyclicality.”

County Judge Pete Sepulveda, . was pleased with the rating. “This rating is important as we continue to make investments in our infrastructure and work to attract investment to the region, he stated. Our region continues to see tremendous growth and when national and global companies are looking to expand or relocate the first thing they look at is the stability of the region. With our bridge system we have tools in place to stay flexible and evaluate our rate structure and adapt when needed.”

In its analysis Fitch noted that bridge traffic increased 1.8% after seven years of consecutive decline. Total revenue for the bridge system increased by .5% to 15.6 million.

“We have been working with the Port of Brownsville and other cities in the Rio Grande Valley to attract more commercial traffic. Together we are working to attract industry via the newly constructed Mazatlan to Matamoros highway so that we can get product to market much faster and move that product through our bridges. With the completion of the Veterans Bridge expansion, our expansion of overweight corridors and the designation of Interstate 69 we are well positioned to see a positive outlook in the near future,” Judge Sepulveda stated.