Why the construction? When the average Mexican border delay is half an hour, San Ysidro is at an hour. During peak times when waits are closer to 45 minutes elsewhere, San Ysidro is approaching two hours.
Its more efficient than any other land border I've ever seen, most of which require everyone to park, get out of the car, and do paperwork.
And we do have fast passes for those who commute regularly from San Diego to TiJuana, but of course they have to be properly vetted by the authorities, and rightfully so, we have to be able to trust them to zip back and forth across the border with minimal questioning.
No matter how much you reform immigration, there will always be more people that want to come here than can be accommodated.
The San Diego to TiJuana border suffers from two problems;
1) sheer volume. The number of vehicles and people crossing the Mexican border is probably an order of magnitude higher than the Canadian border.
People from Mexico come over to the USA to go shopping for basic necessities which are not as easily available in Mexico, whereas you don't have that issue in Canada.
People who are Mexican citizens who live in Mexico and work in the USA cross daily... because although their work permit entitles them to live in the USA, the cost of living is an order of magnitude cheaper in Mexico (you do not have that disparity with Canada).
And what it comes down to is that the USA and Canada are similar enough that people don't HAVE TO cross the border. So we try to make it easy to cross so that when people choose to cross, its a relatively painless process.
2) Documentation requirements are stricter, and the line of questioning for Mexicans entering the USA is likely tougher, because Mexicans are more likely to overstay or never return than Canadians, apparently.
So while the average US or Canadian citizen can be processed quickly, the average processing time for a Mexican Citizen is likely longer and enough so that it causes a longer delay.
The Canada / USA border was on track to eliminate their mutual border checkpoints by about 2003 had the 2001-09-11 attack not happened, and now that Canada has a far more liberal and less security minded refugee policy, that potential for eliminating checkpoints has been crushed.
Until about 1924, there were no controls of any kind on any of the USA's land borders. For Mexicans coming into the USA for temporary employment, they would cross in a border town, walk a block or two to a USA consulate office, fill out a couple of simple registration forms and then be legally able to work in the USA.
It was the 18th Amendment (Prohibition of beverage alcohol) that brought on the first formal checkpoints.
Once all three phases are complete in 2019, the new port will boast 62 northbound vehicle primary inspection booths, one dedicated bus lane and inspection booth spread over 34 lanes,
In addition, a portion of the Interstate 5 South freeway will be realigned and expanded from the current five lanes to ten lanes which will connect to Mexico’s new El Chaparral facility.
http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/San-Ysidro-POE-Expected-to-Reopen-Midnight-12-Hours-Sooner-Than-Expected-447504243.html
http://www.otaymesa.org/5-realign-project/
http://inhabitat.com/net-zero-renovation-for-san-ysidro-border-crossing/san-ysidro-border-crossing-2
https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=4202.0
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