Border Carmageddon: Southbound lane closures running smoothly — so far

Sept. 23, 2017 2:50 PM PT

Nearly 12 hours into a scheduled freeway shutdown of traffic heading south into Mexico, officials at the California Highway Patrol and Caltrans have reported no major traffic backups.

Vehicles heading south on Interstates 5 have been detoured to Route 905 without significant problems, and cross-border traffic at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry has been light.

“Of course there might some things we might see that are unexpected, like accidents, but so far we have been going according to the plan,” said Lima Saft, a transportation engineer at Caltrans, who has been monitoring roadside cameras Saturday afternoon from the CHP/Caltrans Transportation Management Center.

The shutdown is part of a weekend-long project to refurbish and expand lanes of traffic into the port of entry at San Ysidro from the U.S. to Mexico.

The port was closed to vehicle traffic at 3 a.m. Saturday and will not reopen until noon Monday. Southbound traffic crossing into Mexico is expected to reach maximum gridlock if people don’t make other plans. All cars that would normally pass through the busiest land port of entry in the Western Hemisphere will be funneled through Otay Mesa.

“If everyone who crosses on a daily basis or a weekend basis crosses, we’re going to have really terrible traffic delays going into Mexico,” said Anthony Kleppe, a senior asset manager with the U.S. General Services Administration.

Authorities have likened the weekend shut down to Carmageddon, when part of Interstate 405 in Los Angeles was closed for a weekend in 2011.

Kleppe thinks that people in the San Diego and Tijuana region have been informed over the past two months to avoid the port this weekend, and he hopes that it won’t end up being a problem.

He’s been doing what he calls an “Uber test,” asking Uber drivers whether they’ve heard about the closure. In recent weeks, all of them said yes.

“I think we’ve been fairly successful in ensuring that the traveling public is aware of the closure,” Kleppe said. “We’re hopeful that they’re going to heed the warning and enjoy the communities that they’re in, stay there, and plan their trips accordingly. I’m really not envisioning a terrible traffic jam.”

For those who do need to cross into Mexico, pedestrian crossings will remain open during the weekend’s construction, as will the northbound driving lanes to return to the U.S.

The west side pedestrian entrance, which usually closes at 10 p.m., will be open 24 hours for the duration of the closure, Kleppe said.

Public transit to the border will run on a normal weekend schedule.

Those who do end up needing to drive into Mexico, Kleppe said, should give themselves extra time and watch out for construction signs and workers.

Both Interstate 5 and Interstate 805 will be closed south of state Route 905. People trying to reach destinations between state Route 905 and the border, including Las Americas outlet mall, will have detours available to them.

Kleppe said that traffic during recent protests that shut down the port of entry was too heavy for exits to city streets to handle, so authorities decided to close the interstates at another highway where traffic could be more easily detoured.

“What’s most important to us is making sure everyone gets through this weekend safely and comfortably, and we’re able to open up this roadway on Monday for the traveling public,” Kleppe said.

The weekend’s project will kick off the final phase of a $741 million expansion of the San Ysidro port that is expected to be completed in June 2019. Plans include doubling the number of southbound lanes in San Ysidro from five to ten.

As the final phase continues this weekend, San Ysidro will continue to have a reduced number of southbound lanes.

Staff writer Rob Nikolewski contributed to this report

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