North and South

Recently, four new southbound lanes through the Mexican border station at San Ysidro were opened. The new lanes, in addition to the previously functional six inspection lanes, represent a partial fulfillment of Baja's master plan to accommodate more tourism in Tijuana, Rosarito, Ensenada, and points further south.

One of the principal goals of Tijuana business leaders since the September 11, 2001, attacks on America has been to facilitate border crossing both north and south; to expedite traffic flow while increasing border security.

Several months back, the installation of electronic license-plate-reading equipment in four crossing lanes reignited business groups’ complaints that traffic congestion at the border has dissuaded tourists from crossing into Mexico, aggravated returning Mexicans, and resulted in the loss of millions of dollars in business for both countries. Wait times of up to two hours became commonplace.

Though southbound commuters and tourists heading into Mexico now have 10 lanes of crossing access while northbounders into the U.S.A. have a total of 24, the 4 new lanes have allowed for more rapid crossings.