The new crossing would serve passenger, pedestrian and commercial traffic. It would also ease border waits at San Ysidro by distributing traffic along all the checkpoints. Both sides have plenty to do before the crossing is built. Although California transportation officials have been meeting with their Baja California counterparts, discussions at the federal level haven't even begun, said Sheryll White, a manager with the General Services Administration. The Mexican government also must conclude land-use studies and purchase the property, which is owned by the communal land owners of Ejido Chilpancingo.
City officials say the ejido is eager to sell the land.
The property is surrounded by a juxtaposition of modern factories and residential units lacking water and sewage facilities. Mexican officials had considered locating the border checkpoint on the city's west side, along Playas de Tijuana. That idea was abandoned when it became clear it would require disturbing environmentally sensitive land on the U.S. side. The new crossing would be accompanied by a new transportation network. On the U.S. side, the project would include a new two-mile stretch of highway, California 11, that would extend California 905 eastward.