Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Available On Air Stations
Watch Live

Border & Immigration

New Border Freeway Set To Open To The Public

New Border Freeway Set To Open To The Public
Construction started in 2005 and was done in three phases at a total cost of $441 million. It will connect the Otay Mesa Port of Entry with I-805 and I-5.

State Route 905 will connect Interstate 805 and the Otay Mesa border crossing on Monday, July 30, 2012.

The six-lane freeway will be a rapid alternative to Otay Mesa Road - the old SR 905 - which is a surface street with traffic lights that is frequently clogged. The roads parallel each other.

The Otay Mesa Port of Entry handles much of the truck traffic from maquiladoras in Tijuana and beyond. The factories produce goods that are then shipped across North America.

Advertisement

The new freeway will make it more efficient for the big rigs to head to their destinations in San Diego County and points beyond. Officials estimate 4 million trucks will cross from Mexico into California by 2020.

“So now you don’t have any of those signals. You’ve got the nice, wide shoulders," said Laurie Berman, the local district director for CALTRANS.

"I think it’s going to be a nice ride and is going to facilitate cross-border traffic,” said Berman.

Construction started in 2005 and was done in three phases at a total cost of $441 million. It received funding from SANDAG, CALTRANS and the federal government.

Berman said drivers should watch out for crews that will be performing some finishing work on the freeway for the next several weeks.