DONNA — With room for eight lanes to carry traffic to and from
Mexico, the Donna International Bridge could easily handle
thousands of cars and heavy trucks daily, pouring toll money
into city coffers.  But instead of the bustle and congestion of
a typical South Texas border crossing, an orderly calm prevails
here. At times, the afternoon traffic is so light that the
single, bored toll collector has time to chat between arriving
cars.  With its second anniversary approaching, the bridge is
still losing thousands of dollars a day, and the multifaceted
$900 million development complex planned for 1,000 acres on the
U.S. side exists only in colorful, two-dimensional depictions.
This wasn't what folks had in mind when they borrowed $30
million to build a bridge across the Rio Grande. Instead of
growth and money, so far it's only brought Donna the highest tax
rate in Hidalgo County.  “It's like having a kid in college, in
his freshman year. We're still paying for the books and all the
expenses,” said City Manager