After more than two decades of binational collaboration between local, state, and federal leaders in the United States and Mexico, construction crews on Monday broke ground on the Otay Mesa East Port of Entry.
The State Route 11/ Otay Mesa East Port of Entry (OMEPOE) is a joint venture between the California State Transportation Agency(CALTRANS), the San Diego Association of Governments(SANDAG), and binational governments to reduce wait times, increase economic efficiency, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and enhance regional mobility to propel economic growth and binational trade.
The border crossing facility aims to achieve an average wait time of 20 minutes and improve the safety, security, and efficiency of trade and travel in the region. It will be the fifth port of entry connecting San Diego to Mexico.
Officials say the Otay Mesa Port of Entry features state-of-the-art facilities and a new wait-time detection system to provide travel reliability and support to the busiest border region in the Western Hemisphere, accounting for nearly $50 billion in annual trade.
According to CALTRANS Secretary Toks Omishakin, the San Diego-Tijuana region experienced a 30 percent growth in border crossings between 2009 and 2019, with more than one million people heading northbound with commercial vehicles entering the Otay Mesa and San Ysidro Port of Entry.
California Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis said that the new port of entry will be a vital link in strengthening the nation’s supply chain and creating thousands of jobs throughout the United States. She said that the OMEPOE will contribute to a trading volume of more than 1,800 million dollars and create an estimated 16,000 jobs.
“All of us know that the Existing Otay Mesa Port of Entry, which is the region’s main commercial border crossing, and the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the busiest land border crossing in the western hemisphere, are congested and overburdened.”
Current estimates show that increasing wait times cost the United States and Mexico a combined $3.4 billion in annual economic output and more than 80,000 jobs each year. SANDAG estimates that without the Otay Mesa East Port of Entry, the regional wait times for commercial trucks will be over six hours long by 2040, but with this additional border crossing, that wait time can be reduced to only 40 minutes in that time span.
According to SANDAG President and Encinitas Mayor Catherine Blakespear, the OMEPOE provides a new connection between the United States and Mexico that is sorely needed.
“We are helping the economy while we are also improving our environment. We are making real changes to reduce the peak wait times at the existing ports of entry by approximately 50 percent on opening day:”
Recently studies found a benefit-cost ratio of 10-1, meaning for every dollar spent on the project there would be $10 in benefits to California realized. The project has been highlighted as a key project by the State of California since the new border crossing will implement strategies identified in the National Freight Strategic Plan, 2021 California-Baja California Border Master Plan, California Freight Mobility Plan 2020, and California Sustainable Freight Action Plan.
Officials expect completion by late 2024.
