$65M IN GRANTS FOR 2 OTAY PROJECTS

Money from state will help widen La Media Road to 6 lanes, build crossing

SAN DIEGO

State officials have awarded $65 million to two Otay Mesa projects expected to boost the local economy, reduce congestion near the border and shrink wait times at the San Ysidro and Otay crossings.

The two projects — a third border crossing located farther east in Otay and the widening of La Media Road near the existing Otay crossing — show a shift in thinking for San Diego, Councilwoman Vivian Moreno said last week.

“I’m so excited the city is thinking big time now,” said Moreno, whose district includes the border and Otay. “We are one of the most important cities in the nation. We need to up our game.”

To help do that, the city applied in March for state grants to help fund both projects. Earlier this month the city got $22.7 million for the La Media project and $42.5 million for the new border crossing.

The new money for La Media fully funds the $42.7 million project. It will widen La Media to six lanes between state Route 905 and Siempre Viva Road, reducing congestion — especially truck congestion — near the existing Otay border.

The new money for the third border crossing helps bridge a gap between the $523 million in place for the project and its $944 million estimated price tag. The new crossing is scheduled for completion in late 2024.

The boost to border commerce created by the two projects will help Otay Mesa, which is already in the midst of a building boom, become an even more important part of the local and state economy, Moreno said.

“This is huge,” Moreno said. “My goal is to make Otay Mesa the Sorrento Valley of the South Bay.”

The area already has dozens of new industrial projects and vast housing subdivisions under construction. In addition, dramatic renovations are planned at Brown Field airport. Another boost has come from the Cross Border Xpress, a bridge from Otay Mesa to Tijuana International Airport that opened four years ago and is used by more than 2 million people a year.

But narrow La Media road and congested border crossings have been challenges for the area.

“I think it’s high time the state and the city give La Media the respect it deserves,” Moreno said. “Right now they are crossing on a little agricultural road.”

In 2019, California exported nearly $30 billion worth of goods to Mexico. More than 2 million trucks carried $48 billion in imported and exported goods through the Otay Mesa Port of Entry, many of them on La Media Road.

“This project will repair a vital piece of our freight transportation network and alleviate congestion by reducing truck idling and congestion caused by trucks on local streets,” Moreno said.

Designs for the project are expected to be complete by early 2022.

The other $20 million for the road widening comes from developer fees, the county’s half-cent sales tax surcharge for transporta