Pharr city leaders are focusing on two big things this year — bridge traffic and affordable internet.

Both can have a big financial impact in very different ways.

After Gov. Abbott’s Operation Lone Star orders to inspect every truck coming across the Pharr bridge last April, the city reported a loss of a billion dollars in trade.

Some truckers spent days in lines that stretched as far into Mexico as the city of Rio Bravo, some trucks were set on fire by organized crime.

After his state of the city address on Thursday, Pharr Mayor Ambrosio Hernandez said he hopes there will not be a repeat of that in 2023, but if it does happen, he has a plan.

“They’ll be some bending that has to bend,” Hernandez said.

During his address, Hernandez also highlighted how more than half of produce coming into the US from Mexico goes through Pharr, something he hopes lawmakers in Austin will keep in mind while discussing the state’s budget and how much to set aside for operation lone star.

"Perishable foods go bad, people are trying to go to work on both countries,” Hernandez said. “You might be interfering with that aspect of commerce."

Meanwhile, the expansion of the Pharr bridge continues, it’s director, Luis Bazan says the added lanes — four in each direction, could be completed by October 2024, but with the environmental tests still underway, the feds believe the project will be done by 2025.

Watch the video above for the full report.