SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — More than 110 business and community leaders from San Diego and Baja California are in Mexico City to lobby and advocate for projects and issues vital to the region.
The delegation is led by the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, which says their mission is to “champion U.S.-Mexico relations and advance issues critical to the success of the binational business community as the newly sworn-in Mexico Administration begins its session.”
On Monday morning, the chamber hosted a teleconference from Mexico City where the delegation’s plans and goals were discussed.
Issues such as the pollution problem in the Tijuana River Valley were brought up by San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chair Nora Vargas, who stressed the need for commitment from both governments to mitigate the problem.
“Only together are we going to be able to move forward and doing what we need to do to insure our communities are safe,” she said.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria and others also joined Vargas in expressing the need to figure out a way to get people across the border faster, something they say plagues quality of life and commerce along the San Diego border region.
“Thousands of people live, work, move across our border daily, whether it’s students crossing to go to school, grandparents visiting family, our border needs to find solutions that transcend the border itself,” Gloria said.
One plan to lower the time people spend crossing the border was to build a third port of entry in the immediate San Diego-Tijuana area, but the project remains stalled and is now two years behind schedule.
“I want to emphasize California’s commitment to finishing the Otay Mesa East Port of Entry as soon as possible,” said California Secretary of Transportation Toks Omishakin.
The port of entry was supposed to be open by now, but money issues, design and and other delays have plagued the project.
“The last pieces of this project to be built are the port of entry building and a new commercial vehicle inspection facility,” Omishakin said from Mexico City.
He did not give an updated timeline for the construction, although completion is now estimated to be at some point in 2027.
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