New Freeway Project to Ease Border Wait Times at Otay Mesa POE

The construction of a new freeway connector aims to lower the average wait time at one of the nation’s busiest commercial border crossings to 20 minutes. Currently, trucks transporting goods into the U.S. can wait as long as two to four hours. 

Leaders from the United States and Mexico will break ground Monday on the State Route 11/Otay Mesa East Port of Entry Project. The project is designed to reduce traffic at a border port of entry known to be responsible for more than 7 percent of the total U.S. - Mexico trade.

The new connector will link State Route 905 and the nearly complete state Route 11 with State Route 125.

Truck drivers currently have to carry goods through congested local roads to get to the freeway.

This is supposed to accommodate the growing number of trucks carrying goods between the US and Mexico.

More than 90 percent of total trade between California and Mexico is via trucks, according to the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG).

Otay-Mesa-State-Route-11-Project-2015
SANDAG

The entire project – including improvements made on both sides of the border and a new Bluetooth border wait time monitoring system to alert travelers on tolls rates and congestion – is expected to cost $800 million.

Tolls collected on the roads leading up to the Otay Mesa Port of Entry will finance the project, according to SANDAG’s website.

The project is expected to be completed in early 2017.

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