Hearing set on new border crossing planned east of Otay Mesa

By Robert J. Hawkins
Originally published January 10, 2011 at 2:12 p.m., updated January 10, 2011 at 5:55 p.m.

Proposed route of new SR 11 four-lane toll road that will connect a new border crossing to the county's highway system.

A public hearing is nearing on the first new California border crossing in 23 years and the 2.1 mile, four-lane highway that will tie together the South Bay Expressway (SR 125), the east-west highway SR-905 and a new port of entry to Mexico, called Otay Mesa East.

The $360-million toll road, called State Route 11, makes possible the construction of the first new border crossing between California and Mexico in 23 years.

SR 11 and the $350-million Otay Mesa East crossing are expected to dramatically ease the pressure on the Otay Mesa port of entry which handles 90 percent of the trucks crossing into the country. In 2006, according to Caltrans figures, Otay Mesa processed 1.4 million trucks, carrying nearly $27 billion in goods from Mexico.

Officials expect that number to double by the year 2025.

The federal government is currently preparing design for the port of entry, but Caltrans has prepared a "conceptual development plan" that will work for now in evaluating the impact of SR 11.

The proposed crossing will occupy 106 acres and will accommodate pedestrian and bicycle traffic in both directions as well as cars and trucks.

The project also includes a 23-acre California Highway Patrol inspection station just east of the new entry port, to ensure that trucks entering the country comply with U.S. safety and environmental guidelines.

A public meeting on the the Draft Environmental Impact Report/Draft Environmental Impact Statement is set for Wednesday, Jan. 19, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Ocean View Hills Elementary School, 4919 Del Sol Blvd., San Diego.

Staff from Caltrans and SANDAG, along with representatives from the federal General Services Administration, will be on hand to provide information and to answer questions.

The report was actually released in early December and the 60-day public comment period for it ends Feb. 1. The 660-page environmental report is available online.

The project is expected to break ground by 2013 and open for business by 2015, according to Caltrans.

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