DavidE - 6-9-2012 at 09:52 AM
A CUT & PASTE FROM THE SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE
For the 35,000 motorists who drive past San Ysidro into Mexico each day, life could soon change dramatically.
A high-ranking Mexican official said this week that President Felipe Calderón’s administration is holding firm to its plan to open the new,
state-of-the-art El Chaparral port of entry by November and route all southbound vehicular traffic through that facility.
Sean Carlos Cázares Ahearne, deputy director general of border affairs for Mexico’s Foreign Ministry, said in an interview that “we will begin
operations as soon as the port is finished in October.”
Cázares’ comments during a stop in San Diego laid out in the open a discussion that had taken place largely through diplomatic notes and
behind-the-scenes negotiations.
“Leaving the current port open ... is not an option,” Cázares said, because within two months Mexico intends to start expansion of its northbound
crossing lanes that lead into San Ysidro. The project involves turning the existing southbound lanes into northbound ones, he said.
To funnel vehicles to the new port, Cázares said Mexico will reroute all traffic through a temporary, five-lane connection that involves a sharp turn.
Critics of this strategy say the curve will cause major traffic delays.
While applauding construction of the new facility, members of the Baja California business community have vigorously protested the plan to close the
six existing southbound lanes this fall.
By relying solely on the temporary connection, “the biggest fear is that we will have a problem going into Mexico, and that will affect the economy on
both sides of the border,” said Oscar Escobedo, a member of the Tijuana Economic Development Council and a former state tourism secretary. He is
serving as spokesman for the private sector on the El Chaparral issue.
“Closing that down would be very unwise,” said Tijuana attorney José M. Larroque, co-chairman of the Smart Border Coalition, a binational group that
advocates for more efficient crossings. “Certainly it would be a slap in the face to the Tijuana community if they decide to create that havoc on the
border.”
BajaNomad - 6-9-2012 at 02:56 PM
http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=60587