{"nrhp_refnum":"84001959","name":"Roma-San Pedro International Bridge","other_names":["Roma Suspension Bridge"],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"SW of Hidalgo St. and Bravo Alley","address_restricted":false,"city":"Roma-Los Saenz","county":"Starr County","state":"TX","lat":26.403968663000057,"lon":-99.01865649799998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-03-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Engineering"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-lane, single-span suspension bridge about 700 feet long, crossing the Rio Grande at Roma-Los Saenz, Starr County, Texas, to Ciudad Miguel Alemán, Mexico. Only the U.S. portion is nominated; it was built in 1927-28 and designed by engineer George E. Cole.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the bridge is the only surviving international suspension bridge on the Rio Grande and one of few in Texas, and it represents an engineering type that was declining by the mid-20th century. It is the most noteworthy early 20th-century structure in Roma-Los Saenz and a reminder of the enterprises of Joseph Erastus Pate. It is also tied to the town's commercial development.","narrative":"Spanning the Rio Grande from sandstone cliffs at Roma-Los Saenz, Texas, this suspension bridge links Starr County with Ciudad Miguel Alemán, Mexico. Built in 1927-28 to a design by Houston engineer George E. Cole, it has a single span of about 700 feet, steel towers rising 45 feet above the deck, and a roadway hanging roughly 50 feet over the river. It was privately financed through the Starr County Bridge Company, whose chief stockholder, Joseph Erastus Pate, built several suspension bridges in the Valley. Roma's is the only one of them still standing, and it is the only surviving international suspension bridge on the Rio Grande. About 5,000 people attended its opening on March 1, 1928. The bridge never transformed the local economy, but it became a landmark of the town. Starr County acquired it in the mid-1960s and replaced it with a new crossing in 1979. It is now unused but in fair condition.","period_of_significance":"1900- (specific dates 1927-28)","architect_builder":"George E. Cole, Engineer","architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Superseded by a new Starr County International Bridge in 1979; the old bridge is disused but remains in fair condition, with considerable community interest in preserving it.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:18.622058-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/77/9733/40973377/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/84001959.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40973377","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110001311"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/starr-county/roma-san-pedro-international-bridge-84001959/"}