Mexico and the United States plan to unveil a series of “major improvements” later this week on the Tijuana-San Ysidro international border crossing in an the millions of daily border crossings, the Mexican Foreign Relations Secretariat said Tuesday.
“These modifications will increase the capacity of the lanes on the border bridge and facilitate the flow of passengers crossing the border,” the secretariat said in a statement.
On Friday, as part of a widening and reconfiguration project, “Mexico will open five new lanes in the northbound direction on the old access road, known as Puerta Mexico, with the goal of channeling traffic toward the existing U.S. inspection stations,” the secretariat said.
The expansion project “will significantly increase the capacity of the lanes in the port of entry, reducing the bottlenecks on the streets of Tijuana,” the city in Baja California state located directly across the border from San Ysidro, California, the secretariat said.
On the U.S. side of the border, “for the first time, the 25 northbound inspection lanes will open, making them available during a test period,” the Foreign Relations Secretariat said.
The project is expected to help reduce waiting times for people crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.
“The federal governments of Mexico and the United States reiterate their commitment to continuing to work to improve the infrastructure along our common border, a key element for the social and economic development of the Tijuana-San Diego region, and of both nations,” the secretariat said.
The Tijuana-San Ysidro port of entry registers between 360 million and 400 million passenger crossings each year, making it the world’s busiest international crossing.
Published in Latino Daily News