Unprecedented Expansion and Modernization of the Regional Ports of Entry
Category: Regional Cross-Border Initiatives
- Mexico has invested more than $100 million to expand and modernize capacity at El Chaparral and Otay Mesa.
- At the San Ysidro crossing in the U.S., current construction of a $740-million “Port of the Future” project:
- Surface area 365,000 sq. ft. (34,000 m2)
- Thirty-eight new inspection booths
- Design and technology to reduce border wait times and improve national security, comfort for federal employees, and the traveler’s experience.
- Enhancement of U.S. Customs and Border Protection mission capacity.
- Realignment of Interstate 5 to connect with the approach to the Mexican port of entry.
- Addition of a bidirectional pedestrian crossing and multimodal transit center.
- First and only LEED Platinum U.S. land port of entry.
- Targeting Net Zero: energy consumed will equal energy produced on site.
- Near the current Otay Mesa crossing in the U.S., a totally new port of entry for trucks and passenger vehicles, representing an investment of aproximately 1 Billion dollars:
- Conceived to provide fast and predictable southbound crossings via tolled approach roads connecting directly to a new state-of-the-art port of entry for personal and commercial vehicles.
- Aiming to reduce average wait time to 20 minutes.
- Product of a partnership between the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), with support from the Otay Mesa Chamber of Commerce.
- Three construction segments:
- A four-lane freeway between State Road 905 and Enrico Fermi Drive and three freeway-to-freeway connectors linking State Road 905 and State Road 11 to northbound State Road 125 (completed).
- A four-lane toll highway from Enrico Fermi Drive to the new Otay Mesa Port of Entry, with a new Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Facility (completion expected in 2019).
- New port of entry (completion expected in 2019).
- Three construction segments:
- An integrated approach to providing advanced traveler information for the region’s major ports of entry.
- A new border wait time detection system feeding advanced traveler alert capabilities.
- Use of electronic variable toll rates as a demand management strategy at Otay Mesa East.
