Current wait
Passenger
Heavy
50min
Reported 36 min ago by CBP
- Bridge of the Americas: BOTA Passenger/Ready Lanes is open west side of port; Passenger Hrs 24 hours/7days, BOTA CARGO Mon-FRI 6 am to 4 pm. SAT/SUN CLOSED. Tune into AM 1610 for info.
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Latest official wait for Bridge of the Americas
Other facilities (0)
Mexico-bound: not reported
This site doesn't show Mexico-bound waits. The numbers on this page cover traffic entering the U.S., reported by CBP.
More on where these numbers come from: how border wait times work.
Feed-check details
CBP feed checked · Updates roughly hourly
Crossing facts
- Toll
- none — verified free in both directions, all traffic
- U.S.-bound hours, cars and pedestrians
- 24 hours
- U.S.-bound hours, cargo
- 6 a.m.–4 p.m., Monday–Friday
- Lanes reported
- car General / Ready; pedestrian General / Ready; truck General / FAST
- U.S. approach
- I-110, connecting US 54 and I-10
About this crossing
The Bridge of the Americas — El Paso's "Free Bridge" — is the corridor's workhorse: cars, pedestrians and trucks, with no toll in either direction, the only El Paso bridge that charges nothing. Cars and pedestrians cross 24 hours; cargo runs weekdays 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., closed weekends.
Cargo, and the plan to end it
Today BOTA runs three RFID-equipped commercial lanes with General and FAST waits on weekday hours. That has an expiry date: GSA's selected modernization eliminates cargo operations at this port. No site work is underway yet — construction is scheduled for early 2028, cargo ceases when it begins, and completion is slated for summer 2031. Planned dates, not current works.
The bridge
Opened in 1967 and replaced in 1998, BOTA crosses between the Córdova/Chamizal area and I-110. The boundary commissions (IBWC and CILA) own the structure; GSA manages the U.S. port and CBP inspects.
Quick answers
Is Bridge of the Americas toll-free?
Yes — verified free in both directions for cars, pedestrians and trucks, the only toll-free El Paso bridge. Free doesn't mean fast: check the live waits, especially at peak hours.
When can commercial trucks use BOTA?
Weekdays, 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. — closed Saturday and Sunday. For evening or Saturday cargo, Ysleta runs weekdays to midnight and Saturday to 2 p.m. FAST is reported separately for enrolled carriers.
Is BOTA already under construction?
No — GSA says no site work is underway. Construction is scheduled to begin in early 2028, cargo operations cease when it does, and completion is slated for summer 2031. Planned dates that can move.