The Union Pacific and Texas Mexican railroads haul so many boxcars into the bottleneck that rail delays have resulted as far north as Oklahoma. Garza said she has been kept awake throughout the night by idling train engines. They leave the trains on and the whole neighborhood vibrates. But like others here, Flores predicts Laredo will survive its growth and flourish. Highways are being widened and construction has begun on a third road bridge across the Rio Grande, to reduce the near-constant traffic jams.
Major renovations are underway in Laredo's aged school buildings.
It used to be that communities on the Rio Grande poor, isolated and largely forgotten battled in the legislature for slices of the state budget, and often had to be satisfied with table scraps. But not anymore. The biggest share would go to Laredo, the fastest growing city in the state.