Mexico redirects commercial truck border traffic to future Otay Mesa East facilities

Mexico has found a temporary use for a new customs facility in Tijuana that was built as part of the future Otay Mesa East Port of Entry project while the U.S. finishes construction on its side of the border in San Diego.

On Monday, the facility began serving as the access point for certain commercial cargo trucks waiting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border. The change was made to ease traffic in the nearby Mesa de Otay industrial area in Tijuana, as lines can sometimes stretch far during busy times.

We have a great facility,” said Alfonso Millán with the Baja California chapter of the National Chamber of Freight Transportation, or Canacar, speaking about the new infrastructure built by the Mexican military in Tijuana. “Let’s take advantage of it.”

Millán said the idea stemmed from year-long conversations between federal and state officials, as well as groups such as Canacar.

This will benefit the public by reducing the number of trucks that used to line up along Bellas Artes Boulevard. They will now be rerouted to this area,” Millán said. He estimated that an average of 3,000 commercial cargo trucks cross the border from Tijuana to San Diego daily.