dasubergeek - 1-2-2014 at 12:14 AM
As I was noodling around Otay Mesa this past weekend, having my truck inspected and generally making a pain in the *** of myself, I noticed a strange
amount of construction equipment parked off Enrico Fermi Dr.
I asked the folks in the SENTRI office what that was about and... it turns out they actually procured funding for the East Otay Mesa crossing... the
first part, at least.
Because it's a U.S. project, they've split the project into three to be able to claim they're on schedule while they search for funding: the CA-11
toll road from the 905 east to Fermi Dr., then further east to a new "commercial secondary", then finally the new Port of Entry. Apparently only the
road will be tolled, not the actual border crossing. There will also be a connection from the 905/11 directly to the 125 north. (This is from SANDAG,
who take optimism to a new level, so tomar con un grano de sal, etc.)
The idea is that commercial vehicles will have a bypass lane that gets them well over the border and into this commercial enforcement facility that
will be "inland". No word on whether there would be SENTRI facilities, though it seems likely to me, and no word as to whether they'd divert
commercial traffic away from Right Now Otay Mesa.
I'm trying to get hold of someone at SCT to see what sort of access the Mexican side is planning. The crossing would be about 100 meters east of where
Bellas Artes curves from east to south/north to west, which would put it very, very close to Blvd. 2000, which would be outstanding.
Theoretically, this will be up and running by the end of 2015. In the meantime, enjoy the ability to drive exactly three quarters of a mile east of
the 905 and end up in an industrial park in the desert.