Federal, Local Officials Celebrate Completion of San Ysidro Port Renovation

The U.S. General Services Administration and Customs and Border Protection celebrated the completion Tuesday of a 10-year expansion and renovation project at the San Ysidro Land Port of Entry.

The $741 million project included demolition and reconstruction of the 50-acre complex’s decades-old inspection areas and administration and pedestrian buildings, the addition of a pedestrian crossing on the port’s eastern side, a transportation hub in Tijuana and expanded inspection areas for northbound traffic crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

“The GSA project team was able to deliver this important project on time and under budget while maintaining operation at the busiest land port in the Western Hemisphere,” GSA Public Buildings Service Deputy Commissioner Allison Azevedo said. “The renovation and expansion of this port will enhance the border crossing experience for travelers and provide the CBP and other federal agencies the facilities they need to conduct their missions for years to come.”

The project’s completion will enable border security agents to process border traffic more efficiently, reducing travel times and supporting future increases in border traffic. The San Diego Association of Governments, the region’s main planning agency, projects cross-border vehicle traffic at the San Ysidro Port of Entry to rise 87% by 2030.

GSA and CBP officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the project’s completion with officials from both sides of the border, including San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, Tijuana Mayor Arturo Gonzalez Cruz, Consul General of Mexico in San Diego Carlos Gonzalez Gutierrez and Rep. Juan Vargas, D-San Diego.

“We’re already one of the busiest border crossings in the world with thousands of goods and people crossing every day and now we’ll be able to grow our economy even more to the benefit of people on both sides of the border,” Faulconer said of the San Diego-Tijuana region. “We couldn’t have done this without all of us working together to advocate at the federal level for the funding to get this across the finish line.”

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