OTAY San Diego lands $65M in state grants for border projects

tion projects and the Otay Mesa enhanced infrastructure financing district created in 2017.

The first such district in the state, it allows some of the property taxes generated by new development to no longer go to Sacramento or the city’s general fund. Instead the money stays in Otay Mesa to pay for roads and other amenities.

The new border crossing is a partnership between Mexico, the U.S. federal government, the state Department of Transportation, the city and the San Diego Association of Governments.

It will be a four-lane toll road connecting directly to a state-of-the-art Customs & Border Protection crossing and a California Highway Patrol commercial vehicle enforcement facility.

This fall paving began on a 1.2-mile section of road that will connect newly built state Route 11 to the new border crossing, the final stretch of road needed for the project on this side of the border. Additional features will be a border “wait time detection” system, advanced traveler information to improve route planning and an optimized port of entry capacity to decrease congestion and wait times.

“Cross border travel and

commerce is vital to our communities and our region,” Moreno said. “The Otay Mesa East Facility will help in alleviating the congestion the San Ysidro Port of Entry faces daily by giving travelers an alternative

route to cross into the United States.”

Mexico also recently agreed to spend $132 million on the project on its side of the border.

Moreno said local residents should be pleased that the two grants mean some of their tax dollars are coming back to San Diego to boost the economy here.

“This is money we need to keep fighting for,” she said.