San Ysidro Port of Entry

The San Ysidro Port of Entry is the largest land border crossing between San Diego and Tijuana, and the busiest land border crossing in the world.^[1] It connects Mexican Federal Highway 1 with Interstate 5 on the U.S. side. The San Ysidro Port of Entry is one of three ports of entry in the San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan region.

History

There has been a land border inspection station in the community of San Ysidro since the early 20th century.

San Ysidro Border Inspection Station in 1922

Since its beginning, cars, pedestrians and trains were inspected here.

The 1933 Mission Revival-style Old Customs House, in a photo from 1981

In 1933 the NRHP-listed Old Customs House was built in Mission Revival style, and still stands housing offices. Trucks also once crossed at this location, but in the 1950s, due to congestion, all truck traffic was moved a short distance west to a crossing at Virginia Avenue. Then in 1983, the Otay Mesa Port of Entry was opened and all truck traffic is now inspected there.

The current San Ysidro Land Port of Entry facility was constructed in the 1970s to meet the needs of the time and the projected growth in the coming years. Nearly forty years later, this port of entry has reached its adequate operational capacity and after eight years of planning, it is ready for a major facelift. Current data ranks this port as the busiest international port of entry in the world in terms of individual crossers and vehicle movements from one country to another.^[2]

With over 300,000 daily commuters crossing between Tijuana and San Diego, commuting has become a plague for everyday commuters in the metropolitan region; visitors to and from Baja California spend one to three, and as many as five, hours waiting to enter into the United States. U.S. Border and Customs officials have said that newly implemented inspection technology and properly processing the great amount of persons and vehicles who go through the port on a daily basis have resulted in long lines and long wait times.^[3]

San Ysidro Land Port of Entry Expansion Project

The San Ysidro Land Port of Entry Expansion Project is a bi-national effort between the United States and Mexican governments which aims to the demolition, relocation, expansion, renovation, modernization and construction of new administrative and operational facilities of the current land port of entry in the San Ysidro district of San Diego. The project calls for a complete overhaul of the current international border inspection facilities on both sides of the border at a total cost of about $625 million which includes $577 million^[5] for the expansion of the northbound U.S. point of entry and roughly $48 million (MXN $598) for the construction of an entirely new southbound Mexican point of entry.^[6]

The project is being carried out in three phases:^[7]

• Phase I involves the expansion of northbound vehicle lanes, the implementation of dual primary vehicle inspection booths and a higher capacity secondary inspection facility.
• Phase II involves the demolition of the current administrative building and construction of bigger replacement along with a multi-story employee parking structure. A new pedestrian processing building will also be constructed.
• Phase III involves the relocation of the southbound lanes entering Mexico. These lanes will be moved west of their current location to make space for the planned expansion of new buildings, parking structure and extra northbound lanes. Their new location will allow for a southbound traffic checkpoint to facilitate U.S. officials to conduct inspection of vehicles heading to Mexico. Mexican officials will greet vehicles and occupants at a bigger and better equipped immigration and customs inspection station known as Puerta Mexico El Chaparral.

Construction

2011

• On the U.S. side, construction of the new east/west pedestrian bridge was completed on February 15, 2011.^[8]
• On September 14, 2011, part of the wooden panels and support beams from the construction project collapsed on vehicles crossing the border, injuring nine people, two seriously. All northbound traffic was diverted to the Otay Mesa Port of Entry for the rest of the day, causing massive traffic jams.^[9]

Expected 2013

• On the Tijuana side construction of the links that will connect the new El Chaparral Facility with Via Rápida and Avenida Internacional, which leads drivers to the western Tijuana borough of Playas de Tijuana and nearby Rosarito Beach, has ensued and will continue until estimated completion in 2013.^[10]

2015

Prior to September 2012, pedestrians walked from the U.S. to Mexico by crossing a pedestrian bridge, entering Mexico to the west of Interstate 5, and walking through a corridor leading to the west side of the crossing (Avenida de la Amistad). Then a temporary pedestrian crossing facility was built on the Mexican side on the east side of the crossing. This was replaced when in August 2015 Mexico inaugurated a new pedestrian crossing facility to the east of the northbound traffic lanes. For the first time foreigners are required to show passports when entering Mexico at the border, whereas previously they only had to be shown when entering the interior of the country.^[11][12]

Gateways

El Chaparral Point of Entry

As part of the expansion project, the southbound lanes of Interstate 5 that take vehicles into Mexico will be moved west of their current location to enter Mexico through the new El Chaparral Point of Entry (Spanish: Puerta Mexico el Chaparral).^[13] This relocation and expansion will make way for the construction of a new administrative and border inspection building and increase the amount of northbound vehicle lanes into the United States utilizing the existing lanes that take vehicles into Mexico. The new El Chaparral gateway to Mexico will count with a vehicle and passenger inspection station for U.S. officials to conduct checkpoint inspections of vehicles and passengers traveling into Mexico. The newly constructed border inspection station in Mexico will allow for Mexican officials to conduct customs procedures for all vehicles entering Mexico. The current immigration and customs inspection station in the Mexican side has been deemed inadequate and has led to greater delays to enter into Mexico as Mexican officials process vehicles entering Mexico.

See also

• List of Mexico–United States border crossings
• List of Canada–United States border crossings

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to San Ysidro Port of Entry.

• U.S. GSA: Official San Ysidro Land Port of Entry website
• U.S. GSA: design renderings of new San Ysidro Port of Entry
• U.S. GSA: construction photos of new San Ysidro Port of Entry
• Signonsandiego.com: Plan of new San Ysidro Port of Entry

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