$150 million grant to fund new Port of Entry with ‘state-of-the-art inspection facilities’ in California

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) recently announced that a new Port of Entry will be constructed in the Otey Mesa, California, area.

On April 15, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced that a $150 million federal grant would be executed in order to build a new road and Port of Entry facility for the San Diego-Baja California border region (Otay Mesa) called the “Otay Mesa East Port of Entry.’

The new facility will be built east of the existing Otay Mesa Port of Entry. The new facility will feature state-of-the-art inspection equipment for Customs and Border Protection, a Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Facility, and the deployment of intelligent transportation technologies to manage traffic demand through dynamic tolling, increase inspection efficiency, and bolster cross border trade.

According to the San Diego Association of Governments, the new facility is expected to open in late 2027.

“The project will improve the movement of freight and reduce congestion, bringing economic benefits and spurring job creation throughout Southern California. The new Port of Entry will provide an alternative for nearly 3,600 trucks that cross the existing Otay Mesa and Tecate Ports of Entry daily, which are operating at capacity. The project facilitates freight moving across borders to destinations at nearby distribution centers and warehouses in the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and the Inland Empire’s mega-distribution centers in Riverside and San Bernardino counties,” said USDOT.

“Thanks to the prior administration’s lack of focus, this critical project sat in limbo for two years. No more. We moved to finalize this deal so we can help protect our Southern border and crack down on drug trafficking while preventing tax dollars subsidizing pointless Green New Deal priorities,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy. “This department will continue to clear the previous administration’s unprecedented grants backlog and deliver results.”