San Ysidro Port of Entry

AGC - Associated General Contractors of California

src: www.agc-ca.org

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 with 50,000 northbound vehicles and 25,000 northbound pedestrians crossing each day, in addition to southbound traffic. 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.

Video San Ysidro Port of Entry

Gateways

There is a north- and southbound vehicle crossing, as well as two separate bidirectional pedestrian crossings.

Northbound vehicle crossing

There are currently 25 northbound vehicle lanes to cross from Mexico to the U.S. which will increase to 34 lanes (and 62 booths) when the expansion project is complete.

El Chaparral (southbound vehicle crossing)

The southbound lanes of Interstate 5 which take vehicles into Mexico have been moved west of their previous location through the new El Chaparral Point of Entry (Spanish: Puerta Mexico el Chaparral).). This relocation and expansion was necessary to provide space for the construction of new administrative and border inspection facilities and to increase the number of northbound vehicle lanes. The El Chaparral gateway also has a vehicle and passenger inspection station at which U.S. officials may conduct inspections of southbound traffic, and provides for more thorough inspection of southbound traffic by Mexican officials.

Eastern/main pedestrian crossing

Pedestrians may cross northbound immediately east of the northbound vehicle crossing. As of May 2017 they are temporarily processed in the Milo building while a new facility is built to the west. There are currently 15 pedestrian lanes, and more will be added with the current expansion project.

The eastern (main) southbound pedestrian crossing is east of the northbound crossing, immediately south of the San Ysidro trolley station. Pedestrians pass through the 6.9-million-dollar, three-story Puerta Este México-San Ysidro building, opened in August 2015, containing Mexican passport control and customs which since late 2017 exits to a path leading to Frontera street just southwest of Ferrocarril street. Prior to 2012 the southbound pedestrian crossing was west of the northbound vehicle crossing and exited to a bridge leading to Plaza Viva Tijuana.

PedWest (western pedestrian crossing)

The PedWest pedestrian crossing is located at the east side of the Las Americas outlet mall where Virginia Avenue dead-ends at the border, immediately west of the El Chaparral port of entry into Mexico. On the Mexican side a walkway connects PedWest southeastward, ending across the street from the Plaza Viva Tijuana mall, from which there is a bridge to Downtown Tijuana. PedWest opened for northbound pedestrians in July 2016 and July 31, 2017 for southbound pedestrians. PedWest improved efficiency as now 63,000 people pass through it each day. There are 10 northbound and 2 reversible lanes. This has also become a better alternative for pedestrian traffic, due to the Southbound I-5 re-alignment.

Maps San Ysidro Port of Entry

History

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

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

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.

With over 90,000 daily commuters crossing between Tijuana and San Diego, commuting has become a challenge 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 large number of persons and vehicles who go through the port on a daily basis have resulted in long lines and long wait times.

src: upload.wikimedia.org

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 for 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 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.

The project is being carried out in three phases:

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.

After the completion of the expansion project, the total northbound lanes is expected to be 62 automobile lanes. This will also add 110,000 square feet of energy preserving and producing material. Not only is there an expect increase in lanes, but an increase in efficiency to S.E.N.T.R.I.(Secure Electronic Network for Travelers Rapid Inspection) system.

Construction

2011

On the U.S. side, construction of the new east/west pedestrian bridge was completed on February 15, 2011.
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.

2013

On the Tijuana side construction of links to 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, was built in 2013 (see below).

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.

2016

On July 15, 2016, the PedWest pedestrian crossing and Virginia Avenue transit center were opened. On the Mexican side a temporary, partially enclosed walkway was opened connecting this crossing southeastward to the pedestrian bridge from Plaza Viva Tijuana that heads southwest to Downtown Tijuana. This walkway was nicknamed "Puente Chicanadas" ("cheap/quick fix bridge") and characterized by some as dangerous, suffocating and embarrassing to Mexico. In September 2016, a definitive walkway from Plaza Viva Tijuana costing 25 million pesos (about 1.3 million dollars at the time), was opened.

2017 Phase III has begun September 2017, as the realignment of Southbound Interstate 5 has taken place. It is an increase from the previous 5 lanes to 10 lanes that will be open once phase 3 is complete. This project also targets the Northbound I-5 as it will have a net increase of 8 inspection lanes at the end of its completion.This project does not affect existing pedestrian lanes. Architects,Miller Hull Partnership,are leading the third phase of the project have a budget of $150 million USD.