Brownsville – Gateway

Gateway International Bridge connects Brownsville, Texas, with Matamoros, Tamaulipas. CBP identifies this crossing as Brownsville Gateway, port 535504. Brownsville has other international bridges, so check the name before using a wait estimate to plan your route. A reading for another bridge describes a different crossing.

CBP lists Gateway's port hours as 24 hours a day. The overall port schedule does not mean each individual lane is always open. Look at the lane status and the latest notice before you leave.

Gateway's CBP report provides standard and Ready Lane categories for passenger vehicles, plus separate standard and Ready categories for pedestrians. Choose the report that matches both your travel method and your eligible lane. A pedestrian estimate cannot tell a driver how long the vehicle line will take, and the reverse is also true.

The passenger SENTRI field currently reads not applicable. That is a status label, not a prediction of zero minutes. An estimate can change, and a lane may be closed even though its category appears in the report.

CBP's Gateway notice says its dedicated pedestrian Ready Lane is operational and may be used with a valid U.S. passport or SENTRI card. Read the latest notice before traveling and confirm that your document meets the applicable requirements. The notice concerns the pedestrian lane; do not assume it describes the rules for every vehicle lane.

For vehicle Ready Lanes, CBP lists eligible RFID-enabled travel cards and requires an eligible card for each traveler age 16 or older. A passport book by itself is not a vehicle Ready Lane card. SENTRI is a trusted traveler program requiring prior approval.

TxDOT describes Gateway as serving pedestrians and private vehicles in both directions and commercial vehicles southbound. It identifies Veterans International Bridge at Los Tomates as the regional crossing for northbound trucks. Gateway's current CBP report marks its commercial wait fields as not applicable; that label does not mean a truck wait of zero minutes.

The CBP wait shown here concerns entry into the United States. For U.S. citizens entering by land, accepted documents include a valid U.S. passport or passport card; requirements vary with citizenship and status. If you plan to drive into Mexico, arrange liability insurance valid there and review the policy's coverage and exclusions. Mexican federal-road rules require coverage for harm to third parties.