SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — The commercial side of the Otay Mesa Port of Entry is the second busiest of its kind along the southern border in spite of the fact it’s only open during regular business hours.
There are now calls for it to stay in operation 24-hours a day, 7 days a week.
Alfonso Millán Chávez, from the National Chamber of Freight Transporters in Tijuana, says the group is getting ready to ask both the U.S. and Mexican governments to operate Otay Mesa on a full-time basis.
He says this would diminish waits for truckers to about 90 minutes per crossing, increasing productivity and generating more money for drivers.
Millán Chávez says the Juarez-El Paso crossing is already operating 24/7 and there’s no reason why Otay can’t do the same.
“Unfortunately the average wait is now about three hours and during the final quarter of last year, when there is a greater demand to cross the border with products, waits were about six hours for truckers,” he explained.
Millán Chávez described crossing times during 2023 as “historically long times” with lines measuring several miles long, affecting surrounding roads and residents in the area.
He also stated the problems are traced to issues not only on the Mexico side, but also in the U.S. where Customs and Border Protection recently opened another fast lane with a scale to avoid a bottleneck for truckers as they cross into U.S.
“That’s a positive step, although a special lane needs to be created for truckers who are bringing in produce from the San Quintín Valley that could spoil in the long lines,” Millán Chávez said.
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