Merchants and residents of Pánuco demanded the removal of the tollbooth on the Pánuco Bridge, given that it has collected over 307 million pesos in the last six years, with only 16% of those funds allocated to maintenance and rehabilitation.
The president of the Pánuco branch of the National Chamber of Commerce, María Magdalena Rivera García, pointed out that this situation directly affects merchants, agricultural producers, and citizens who use this route to commute to work or conduct business.
“It’s not fair to pay to enter our own municipality. For several years, we have expressed our dissatisfaction with this toll, since the bridge has practically been paid for multiple times over, and we don’t see the money reflected in any infrastructure or improvements for the region,” she stated.
According to data obtained through a public information request, the toll revenue from the Pánuco Bridge between 2019 and 2025 was 307,126,031 pesos. However, the amount allocated for maintenance and rehabilitation totals 49 million pesos.
According to representatives of the business sector, the toll collected at this point on the Pánuco River—11 pesos for motorcycles and 22 pesos for cars—represents an obstacle to the region’s economic development, since thousands of people must pay daily to cross between northern Veracruz and southern Tamaulipas.
“The toll also affects residents of ejidos and agricultural communities who depend on the bridge to travel to sell their products or get to their workplaces,” they stated.
Among the affected communities are Chapacao, Tamos, Moralillo, Laguna de la Costa, Ochoa, Úrsulo Galván, La Angostura, and Río Tamesí, whose residents must pay the toll every time they cross the bridge.
He warned that this situation reduces Pánuco’s competitiveness compared to other regions of the country, where there are no tolls on local access roads, which could discourage investment and limit economic growth.
Thousands of people cross daily between Veracruz and Tamaulipas.
The former municipal agent of the Cacalilao community, Concepción Villanueva Hernández, considered it unfair that residents themselves should have to pay to enter the municipality where they live.
“The bridge is an essential route for thousands of people who travel daily for work or commerce, so it’s not fair that citizens have to pay to enter their own municipality,” he stated.
The protesters indicated that they will continue to press the authorities to address a demand that, they claim, has been raised by the community for years.
The Pánuco Bridge tollbooth was installed on September 23, 1961. At that time, a temporary tollbooth was set up, charging two pesos to visitors from outside the area and one peso to residents of Pánuco, with the goal of generating funds for public works and improvements in the municipality.
More than six decades after its installation, merchants and citizens insist that the toll should be eliminated, arguing that it no longer serves its original purpose and is hindering the economic development of the northern Veracruz and southern Tamaulipas region.
Source: oem
