The governments of Mexico and the United States have made the expansion and reconfiguration of the Tijuana – San Ysidro Land Port of Entry (LPOE), the busiest passenger LPOE in the world, one of the top priorities of their bilateral agenda.

The governments of Mexico and the United States meet regularly to discuss the operation, requirements and possible improvements of this and all shared border crossings.

As a result of years of close coordination between the two federal governments and with the central participation and support from state and local authorities, on August 16, 2013, some components of the Tijuana – San Ysidro Port of Entry expansion and modernization project will be completed.

These changes will increase the queuing capacity of the LPOE and help to move travelers through the border more quickly, specifically:

● At noon on Friday August 16, Mexico will open five new northbound lanes at the former Puerta Mexico to funnel traffic into existing inspection lanes at San Ysidro.

This change will greatly increase queueing capacity at the LPOE, reducing traffic back-ups in Tijuana city streets. Simultaneously, the United States will, for the first time, have all 25 northbound vehicle lanes of the San Ysidro Land Port of Entry (LPOE) open and available for a temporary test period from August 16th at about noon to August 19th at 8 AM. The traveling public can anticipate reduced wait times during this test period as CBP officials will be able to staff and operate all inspection booths in all Ready Lanes and general traffic lanes.

● On Monday August 19 at 8 AM, northbound lanes 2-9 (the easternmost lanes) will be temporarily closed to allow construction of a steel canopy.

Those lanes will reopen by mid September with a different set of lanes closing to continue the erection of the steel canopy.

Through the remainder of the project, additional lane closures will be necessary to perform similar canopy installation work.

This work will be completed in the fall of 2014.

● Mexico is nearing the completion of the new southbound pedestrian crossing on the east side of the Port. This new crossing will expedite the pedestrian access to Mexico, once it begins operations in October, 2013.

The Federal Governments of the United States and Mexico are committed to the continuous improvement of the infrastructure along our common border, which is a key component for the economic and social development of the Tijuana – San Diego region and of both our nations.

Editorial@sandiegored.com