SAN YSIDRO.- A traffic headache is going to hurt a bit more for a few days for border crossers.

As part of the remodeling of the port of entry, starting Monday night the lanes located on the right-hand side, except for the SENTRI lanes, will be closed until Wednesday night.

As a result, the border crossing will be closed from avenida Padre Kino and Vía Rápida Oriente, said David Navarro, municipal secretary for Urban Development and Ecology.

He said the lanes are scheduled to close Monday, at 10 p.m. and reopen on Wednesday at 10 p.m. He said he was told the closure may extend to Saturday, depending on the work of the company responsible for demolition.

This will be the second closure of lanes in a week. Last Monday, lanes 8 to 15 were blocked. As a result, the lines waiting to cross the border grew considerably longer, between 90 to 120 minutes on average.

The situation is aggravated because the holiday gift-giving season has begun as residents of Mexico cross into the United States to shop.

The pedestrian lane to cross often offers to relief. On Friday morning, the wait to cross stretched to three hours.

Municipal authorities are urging motorists to use the lanes on the left-hand side, which can be accessed from Calle Segunda (Second Street) from downtown Tijuana or from avenida Paseo de los Héroes in the Río zone.

The spokesman for the municipal department of public safety, Julián Domínguez, said that double the number of city police agents will be assigned to the areas near the border crossing to help traffic keep flowing.

To ease the crossing, U.S. Customs and Border Protection is using double inspection booths in the lanes that are open.

The remodeling and expansion project is scheduled to end in 2015, if all the funding that it requires is allocated by Congress.

Alexandra.mendoza@sandiegored.com