The U.S. General Services Administration is preparing to embark on a major infrastructure project on the San Diego-Tijuana border: A $122-million upgrade to the Otay Mesa Port of Entry that would include expansion of the busy port’s pedestrian and truck processing capacities.

In the planning stages for nearly a decade, the single-phase project is slated to launch construction this fall and be completed by the fall of 2021. It was funded as part of the $1.3-trillion federal spending bill approved last month.

“It will make the commercial facilities more efficient, and it will make the pedestrian facilities more efficient,” said Anthony Kleppe, a senior asset manager with GSA.

The project calls for the doubling of pedestrian lanes from six to 12, and link to a future Otay Mesa Transit Center being built by the San Diego Association of Governments. Scheduled to open in January 2019, the transit center will be the southern terminus of the future South Bay Rapid Project, a 26-mile rapid transit route that will run between the Otay Mesa Port of Entry through eastern Chula Vista to downtown San Diego.


Another key element of the Otay Mesa Port of Entry upgrade involves increasing the number of northbound commercial import booths from nine to 15. The port’s commercial side is the second busiest on the U.S.- Mexico border — and the busiest on the California border — averaging some 3,500 truck crossings per day.

“Trade is up, and we need the expanded infrastructure to ensure we are ready to accommodate trade growth while minimizing wait times,” said Alejandra Mier y Teran, executive director of the Otay Mesa Chamber of Commerce.

The project has numerous other elements.

According to GSA, these include: construction of a new commercial annex building; commercial vehicle circulation improvements; new commercial export booths; construction of an employee and visitor parking structure; relocation of the hazardous materials docks; a new pedestrian ramp to the future SANDAG transit center; development of a regional training center for U.S. Customs and Border Protection; and a dedicated return-to-Mexico lane.


sandra.dibble@sduniontribune.com

@sandradibble