The long-anticipated Otay Mesa East Port of Entry and connecting toll road project in San Diego took a major step forward on April 15 with the announcement of a $150 million federal grant, helping advance a $1.3 billion initiative aimed at improving cross-border freight and passenger flow between California and Mexico.

The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded the funding through its INFRA (Infrastructure for Rebuilding America) Grant program, a $10.9 billion effort established under the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to support multimodal freight and highway projects of national or regional importance.

The grant will help fund construction of a new state-managed port of entry on the U.S.-Mexico border east of the existing Otay Mesa facility, along with a new toll road along State Route 11. The project's goal is to streamline border crossings near Tijuana, Mexico, while also easing congestion, increasing inspection capacity, and enhancing national security.

According to the project website, the Otay Mesa East initiative will "facilitate freight movement and reduce wait times to cross in the area."

In a shift from earlier plans, the new DOT funding agreement also rolled back certain Biden-era environmental provisions. These had previously required the use of sustainable materials and infrastructure — including low-carbon construction materials and zero-emission vehicle charging stations — in upgrades to federal border facilities. Those provisions, part of a broader General Services Administration plan to modernize 38 land ports of entry using American-made clean technology, have now been removed.

The San Diego-Baja California border crossing has been in the planning phase for over two decades. The future port will include capacity for both passenger and commercial vehicles and will offer features such as dynamic tolling — a pricing mechanism designed to limit average wait times at the border to no more than 30 minutes.

"The new crossing for the San Diego-Baja California region is more than 20 years in the making," the DOT stated. "It will be built east of the existing Otay Mesa Port, with additional goals of enhancing border security, managing traffic through dynamic tolling and increasing inspection efficiency."

The design includes seven bridges, three interchanges, and a 12-lane facility — though two lanes will be closed at all times for traffic management. Once operational, the port is expected to serve as a critical pressure valve for the region’s overburdened trade routes.

Currently, the Otay Mesa and Tecate border stations handle approximately 3,600 commercial trucks daily and are operating at capacity. The DOT emphasized that the new port “will provide an alternative for the nearly 3,600 trucks that cross the existing Otay Mesa and Tecate border stations daily.” It will also improve connectivity to major shipping hubs, including the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, as well as the distribution centers in California's Inland Empire region, such as Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) and Caltrans are co-sponsoring the project. "SANDAG said in an April 16 news release" that they are now working with federal agencies to finalize the port’s design.

Preparatory work on the site began in August 2022. Swedish construction firm Skanska completed a $3.3 million utility infrastructure extension project in May 2024 to help ready the area for development. Earlier, in January 2024, SANDAG and Caltrans awarded a $3.5 million preconstruction services contract to a joint venture between Clark Construction, based in Bethesda, Maryland, and its subsidiary Atkinson, based in Renton, Washington, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.

While the U.S. side progresses toward construction, The San Diego Union-Tribune also reported that “the Mexican side of the project is almost complete, but cannot be finished until Otay Mesa East is also built.”

Construction on commercial vehicle facilities is anticipated to begin this fall. SANDAG noted that the project may open in phases, with a full opening expected by late 2027.

Originally reported by Julie Strupp in Construction Dive.