U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy has confirmed a $150 million federal grant dedicated to constructing a new road and Port of Entry facility in the San Diego-Baja California border region at Otay Mesa. The allocated funds aim to enhance border security by equipping Customs and Border Protection with modern inspection facilities. The agreement also omits the former Green New Deal mandates, such as the zero-emission vehicle charging requirement, considered unrelated to the security mission of CBP.
“The Otay Mesa East Port of Entry project was first awarded a grant from the Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight & Highway Projects (INFRA) program in September 2022," stated Duffy. Moreover, he mentioned, “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.”
Duffy's leadership is set on resolving the backlog of over 3,200 unobligated grants that delayed essential community investments. He assures that under his direction, the Department aims to expedite these funds for core infrastructure advancements.
The Otay Mesa project involves the establishment of a new, 21st-century border crossing positioned east of the current Otay Mesa Port. This includes state-of-the-art Customs and Border Protection inspection tools, a Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Facility, and smart transportation technologies. The focus is on optimizing traffic flow, enhancing inspection processes, and boosting cross-border trade. The expected improvements are likely to streamline freight movement and reduce congestion, facilitating economic growth and job creation in Southern California.
The upcoming Port of Entry is designed to accommodate approximately 3,600 trucks daily that currently utilize the saturated Otay Mesa and Tecate ports. The project aims to support freight transit to locations such as the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and the mega-distribution centers in Riverside and San Bernardino counties in the Inland Empire.
