Construction Starts at Otay Mesa Pedestrian Building Without Interrupted Operations

The northbound pedestrian booths at the Otay Mesa port of entry will be under construction beginning Sept. 12 as part of a more extensive modernization and expansion project.

Once travelers proceed north, they will see signage outside directing them to enter through the rightmost door. Some doors with access into the building will be temporarily closed off to accommodate the installation of the new, permanent inspection booths inside the building.

Inside the pedestrian building, there will be floor-to-ceiling construction walls to facilitate the installation of the new booths with little, or no impact on pedestrian operations.

This configuration is estimated to remain in place until January 2023 when it is projected to reopen with six pedestrian booths total.

On completion of the first six pedestrian booths, construction will continue by replacing the old booths.

This modernization and expansion project is an effort to alleviate wait times and provide a more seamless travel process. The pedestrian portion of the project is set to double pedestrian processing facilities from six to 12 lanes. The anticipated completion date for the overall project is the spring of 2023.

Though construction should not interfere with wait times, we want to remind the traveling public to please plan ahead, monitor border wait times via border wait times (cbp.gov) or obtain the BWT app on their smartphones, and have all their travel documents ready to present to CBP officers upon inspection to ensure quick processing times.

CBP officers at the border crossing in Southern California stop illegal activity while processing millions of legitimate travelers into the United States.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with managing, controlling, and protecting our nation’s borders at and between official ports of entry. CBP is charged with securing the edges of the United States while enforcing hundreds of laws and facilitating lawful trade and travel.