Increased Capacity at San Ysidro Border Crossing this October

Twenty-Six double-stacked booths to open

TIJUANA.- This October, border crossers may finally get some relief when the San Ysidro Border port of entry brings additional booths into operation, for a total of 26 double-stacked booths. It is hoped that this will reduce the wait times of the estimated 50,000 northbound vehicles that cross the border on a daily basis. This according to an article by El Mexicano.

After this takes place, Mexico plans to start rearranging lanes heading into the 26 booths, which will nclude the demolition of federal offices that are no longer in use. In 2015, the provisional ninety degree curve into Mexico will also be reworked, and additional lanes will be freed up to be used for nine more northbound lanes. When work concludes in 2017, there should be a total of 35 lanes entering San Ysidro, California.

Pedestrian border crossing facilities will also be constructed to enable crossing in both directions at El Chaparral. An estimated 25,000 northbound pedestrians cross each day, and the long wait times are a great cause of concern as people are forced to wait in harsh weather conditions, without access to adequate bathroom and rest facilities.

The new Puerta Mexico crossing will facilitate pedestrian crossing into Tijuana and is already well underway. In August, the facilities will be handed over to Mexican authorities in charge of outfitting the facilities with equipment to begin operations.

This month, the House of Representatives passed an appropriations bill that included $216 million for the final phase of the border expansion and modernization project, a three phase project that has thus far only received funding for two phases. The bill will still need to pass the senate, but may face opposition due to unrelated aspects of the bill related to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Earlier this year, another phase of the bill was approved for funding.

A 2007 study by the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) estimated that delays due to border wait times costs $7.2 billion in lost output, not to mention over 60,000 jobs.

borderzonie@gmail.com

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