Los Indios, TX (KRGV) — Cameron County received $9.18 million in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation to build a truck parking facility near the Los Indios Bridge and make the area safer, according to Cameron County Administrator Pete Sepulveda.

Truck drivers waiting to cross into Mexico through the Los Indios Bridge do not have a designated place to park. Some pull over along the side of the road.

"We have to stay there because there's nowhere else to go or there's no space for us to get out," driver Carlos Rosales said.

Rosales has transported vehicles from the U.S. to Honduras for 15 years. He told Channel 5 News drivers can spend two to three hours waiting to cross.

"If you see the gas station over there before you cross the border, in the past there's been lines stretching about a mile that way almost a mile and a half that way," Rosales said. "We pretty much pull over to the side of the road."

Sepulveda said commercial truck traffic has jumped from about 100 trucks a day to 500 in just three years.

"So, if a truck gets there and their paperwork is not ready, they've got to park on the side of the road, which is not safe. We want to create a safe environment not only for commercial vehicles but also for passenger vehicles," Sepulveda said.

"The planned 305-space facility will sit adjacent to the bridge, with county crews also upgrading Rio Grande Avenue to handle the commercial traffic flow.

Construction could start in the next 18 to 24 months. The county expects the facility to open in about three years.

"It would be a big benefit for all of us who travel through here regularly on our way to Central America," Rosales said.

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