Read today's report of the Tecate HWY problems.
More rain in the Northern Baja area I guess, so any new reports would be appreciated.CaboHenry - 12-22-2008 at 09:57 PM
It really would be great to get some current road conditions between San Y crossing & Ensenada aswell. Is it OK to get all northern road
conditions posted here between border & Ensenada? Many of us are planning a x-mas (or just after x-mas) departure. It would be nice to know how
our 1st 80 miles will be.
It sucks to be concerned about the 1st 50-80 miles of the otherwise beautiful 1000 mile Baja route.lizard lips - 12-22-2008 at 11:48 PM
All I currently know about is Ensenada. I drove across town tonight during the rain storm and it was a mess. Avenida Reforma was like a lake downtown.
Going to San Diego tomorrow so I will report when I get back. The rain stopped since 6:00pm and just started up again at 10:45pm.
When coming down towards Ensenada be very careful around El Mirador. Rocks become loose and fall onto the roadway. Drive slow and always during the
day light hours especially this time of year.
Otay crossing
bajaguy - 12-23-2008 at 08:35 AM
Road report from fellow Nomad who crossed northbound at Otay 12-22-08:
Northbound Blvd 2000 OK, had some hard packed mud from previous run-offs but no pot holes. Once off of Blvd 2000, surface streets had lots of
potholes filled with water so you couldn't see them till you hit them!
On approach to Otay SENTRI lane on Blvd Bella Artes, a 50 minute wait to get into the SENTRI lane, then a 45 minute wait in the SENTRI line.Bajahowodd - 12-23-2008 at 01:33 PM
Maybe SENTRI is going the way of the car pool lane.BajaGringo - 12-23-2008 at 02:29 PM
More rain is forecast for the northern Baja region beginning early tomorrow. The storm is forecast to bring at least a couple more days of rain, last
I heard. The area is still soaked from the prior storm and another large storm will certainly bring more flooding, mud and rock slides.lizard lips - 12-23-2008 at 07:22 PM
Ok, here ya go and it's the complete story.
First off those of you who will be crossing tomorrow to San Yisidro will be interested in this.
The military check point had me open my trunk after the toll in Rosirito and saw my zip lock bag holding bout 8 red flares and probably thought it was
dynamite. I told him they were flares and I gave him one.
The road to the border was fine along the toll road. Several holes but two trucks were noticed doing patch work.
My son and I left Ensenada at 830 am and took the last toll in Tj and instead of going along the border fence we went straight which we do often. Only
one lane open here due to a slide and several tractors were scooping dirt and rocks. Long wait here. The line for the border was backed up three
blocks before you get to the big church on the left. I was in the far right lane to take the airport turn off from that road then on to the first
glorieta which we took to the left to go to sentri. The traffic to the border was backed up well past the bridge and eventually even was at the sentri
lane which is a LONG wait!.I took the road next to the river which eventually leads into the sentri lane however the police had blocked off these two
lanes that were closer to the curb and diverted traffic back into the border traffic. I then, after waiting for 40 minutes eventually got back into
the left #2 lane closer to the river that lead me to the line for sentri. It then took one hour in this lane to cross. Crossed at 12:30!
Bank, post office then onto Chula Vista Mall which I suggest you avoid at all costs but I had to go there. Costco parking lot full as well as Wall
Mart so that was out.....
Crossed back into Mex. at 3 pm and got the red light but when the aduana only saw plastic food bags from Vons and did not see what I purchased at Home
Depot I was gone. Aduana guy was great and wished me Merry Christmas.
Taking the road that goes along the border fence had several holes in the number 1 lane so take the slow number 2 lane as you go along this area and
up the hill. One lane open until you get to Playas turn off but clear sailing along the toll rod and the southbound lanes were fine with no big holes
and the usual detour prior to Baja Mar , one lane for about 4 miles. El Mirador was fine but you can see large rocks that were once on the road that
fell down but had been moved.
All in all I kind of expected a bad travel day but going up was the worse....... If you don't have to go, DON'T DO IT! ESPECIALLY TOMORROW.
MERRY CHRISTMAS. IM HOME FOR THE REST OF THIS YEAR!CaboHenry - 12-23-2008 at 07:39 PM
Thank you for that excellent report. It's real helpful.
Merry Christmas.gnukid - 12-23-2008 at 08:04 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by lizard lips
...
All in all I kind of expected a bad travel day but going up was the worse....... If you don't have to go, DON'T DO IT! ESPECIALLY TOMORROW.
MERRY CHRISTMAS. IM HOME FOR THE REST OF THIS YEAR!
Why especially tomorrow - planning a crossingWoooosh - 12-23-2008 at 08:23 PM
Quote:
One lane open until you get to Playas turn off but clear sailing along the toll rod and the southbound lanes were fine
That whole section soutbound between the San Ysidro POE and Playas de Tijuana is having problems. Just before Playas there are three lanes open. The
police are there moving the center barrier to allow two lanes in one direction or the other depending on the time of day. Even with the two lanes
open in my direction it took an extra half hour. Only way around it is the free road. More rain for this section near Playas won't be good- although
the fencing they put up to catch the small rocks is working well.k-rico - 12-24-2008 at 08:14 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by Woooosh
Quote:
One lane open until you get to Playas turn off but clear sailing along the toll rod and the southbound lanes were fine
That whole section soutbound between the San Ysidro POE and Playas de Tijuana is having problems. Just before Playas there are three lanes open. The
police are there moving the center barrier to allow two lanes in one direction or the other depending on the time of day. Even with the two lanes
open in my direction it took an extra half hour. Only way around it is the free road. More rain for this section near Playas won't be good- although
the fencing they put up to catch the small rocks is working well.
I got caught up in the westbound bottleneck traffic to playas due to a lane closure yesterday. I was returning from centro via second street but the
bottleneck is after the border highway merge so it makes no difference how you get to the toll road. Took about 30 minutes to get through.
Downtown TJ is extra ugly on cold gray days. Yuck.gnukid - 12-24-2008 at 09:01 AM
Ok Wheelers got your ears on? 8:00am Wed
CLOSURE OF HIWAY 5 AT THE GRAPEVINE NORTH AND SOUTH
I-5 North and South Bound Emergency Closures Near Grapevine Pass
North of Santa Clarita near Gorman – The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) announces that all northbound and all southbound lanes
of the Golden State Freeway (I-5) near Gorman are closed due to a double-big rig accident with hazardous material spill.
A tanker containing hazardous materials burned and continues smoldering. Assessments are continuing to be made by Los Angeles County HAZMAT crews,
Caltrans HAZMAT crews, Los Angeles County Fire Department, California Highway Patrol and the Los Angeles County Health Department.
All lanes of southbound I-5 are closed at the Grapevine Road exit. All lanes of northbound I-5 are closed at Parker Road in Castaic.
Northbound motorists are being detoured off of the freeway at Parker Road and back onto southbound I-5. Southbound motorists are being detoured off
of the freeway at the Grapevine Road exit and back onto northbound I-5.
SUGGESTED DETOURS:
Traveling to northern California:
Northbound I-5 to westbound 126 to northbound 101
Northbound 14 to westbound 58 to northbound 99
Traveling to southern California:
Eastbound Route 58 to southbound Route 14 to southbound I-5
Southbound 101 to eastbound Route 126 to southbound I-5
Westbound Route 46 to southbound Route 101
Estimated duration of re-opening lanes is NOON for southbound I-5 and 4-6 p.m. for northbound I-5.
I entered Baja via Mexicali East Crossing last Friday Dec. 19th in the a.m.
The traffic headed north at 9 a.m. was backed up to the "T" which is about an hour wait.
Today, 12/24, I crossed north at the same border and at the same 9 a.m. time and the line was less than 10 minutes...
I think today is a good day for heading in or out of Baja, and tomorrow should be even quieter.
BTW, I called my wife as I was in line and the website for Homeland Security Border Wait Times said that the line was 40 minutes long.BajaGringo - 12-24-2008 at 04:23 PM
It has started to rain here in northern Rosarito...
