BUTTIGIEG TOURS FUTURE OTAY MESA EAST CROSSING
New port of entry at U.S.-Mexico border needs funding, staffing
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg toured the San Diego-Tijuana border Friday to promote the future Otay Mesa East Port of Entry, which still needs about $568 million in funding as well as U.S. Customs and Border Protection staffing.
The former mayor of South Bend, Ind., watched inspection officials to better understand the process of examining large freight trucks that travel into the United States from Mexico. Wearing a blue safety helmet and yellow vest, he ducked under one of the massive vehicles as workers kicked tires and shined flashlights into the undercarriage.
The visit comes a month after regional transportation officials inked a crucial deal with Mexico over how to share future toll revenues at the new port of entry, which is expected to be open by 2024. The revenue would be collected in the United States and split evenly, pulling in an estimated $3.4 billion for each country over the next four decades.
High-ranking local and state officials gathered on Friday at the project’s site to hear Buttigieg voice his commitment to the longenvisioned $1.47 billion facility.
“We’re here to talk about how we’re building a strong and more resilient American economy and to celebrate a great example of that in this project that will create jobs and reduce costs for folks here in San Diego County and across the country,” he told the crowd, standing in a field of dirt where state Route 11 ends and the federal tolling facility is to be built.
Flanked by large yellow bulldozers, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, county Supervisors Nora Vargas and Nathan Fletcher, as well as Secretary of the State Transportation Agency Toks Omishakin listened closely. California Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis also spoke at the event, emphasizing that the project isn’t yet fully funded and that Congress still needs to approve money for additional customs officers to operate Otay Mesa East.
“As we celebrate and recognize your leadership, Secretary Buttigieg, in helping to build the customs facility,” she said, “we also need to remember that we will need additional support, engagement and investment by the federal government to bring this project to completion.”
Still, the project made significant progress this year with the
completion of the connecting highway network, which included work on state routes 125, 905 and 11. The facility officially broke ground in August and a month later secured a crucial $150 million in federal funding.
Buttigieg seemed unsure whether Congress would approve funding for the new customs officers needed to run the border crossing. Although, several officials said they felt confident the issue had bipartisan appeal.
“This is an ongoing conversation … and we recognize that the physical transportation infrastructure is just one piece of it,” he said.
“We also know that every CBP agent can be more efficient and more effective and have a better experience doing their job when they have a better facility.”
Tens of thousands of people traverse the San DiegoTijuana border every day, from schoolchildren to hotel workers to truck drivers. Getting over the border can take hours during gridlock traffic, costing an estimated $3.4 billion in economic output annually.
The new crossing is aimed at reducing those wait times while helping to boost Tijuana’s booming manufacturing and warehouse sectors. About 1.4 million trucks crossed into Cali- fornia from Mexico in 2021, up from 1.1 million in 2006, according to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation.
“I think about the math of what it means to reduce those hours spent here,” Buttigieg said on Friday. “Less time wasted for truckers means more time at home with loved ones.”
Otay Mesa East will have 10 lanes in each direction for both passenger cars and cargo trucks, and it will have room to grow. Its 120-acre site is larger than the com- bined footprint of the current border crossings in Otay Mesa and San Ysidro.
Average wait times at the new facility are projected to be from five to 25 minutes for passenger vehicles and 15 to 45 minutes for freight traffic. Toll pricing would fluctuate to discourage traffic. Signs would alert approaching drivers to crossing fees as well as wait times.
Business owners appear very optimistic about the project as well as the future of trade between the two countries. Freight movement across the current Otay Mesa Port of Entry generates $47 billion annually and could triple to $166 billion by 2050, according to a report by the San Diego Association of Governments.
A significant amount of manufacturing has recently relocated from China to Mexico in a process called “nearshoring.” The main commodities transported from Mexico into California are electronics, agricultural goods, cars and medical devices.
“Everybody realized, you can make a lot of money if you make (computer) chips in Mexico, if you make things like that, what we always get from China,” said Eduardo Acosta, vice president of R.L. Jones Customhouse Brokers and a board member of the Otay Mesa Chamber of Commerce, who attended the event Friday. “We can’t have all our eggs in one basket.”
While truck commerce is roaring, pedestrian and passenger vehicle traffic is down substantially. Car crossings into California from Mexico have decreased from nearly 34.3 million in 2006 to about 25.5 million in 2021, according to federal statistics. During the same time period, people heading over the border on foot dropped from 15.5 million trips to 10.3 million.
Officials have speculated that stricter border inspection regimes may be slowing lines and discouraging trips.
“I think what’s happening is the wait times. It’s not that attractive to make that second trip,” said Mario Orso, chief deputy district director for Caltrans District 11 in San Diego.