State Route 905 Grand Opening
By Adina Moloman
Sources: SANDAG, Otay Mesa Chamber of Commerce
California Route 905 freeway from the Otay Mesa Port of Entry to Interstate 805 finally got to its completion. This is a long expected alternative for commercial traffic, giving the fact that Otay Mesa is the busiest commercial port on the U.S.-Mexico border and it also processes passenger vehicles.
The presence of the large Tijuana Maquiladora Industry in Mexico is strictly related to the large increase in commercial industry with the U.S., where most of the “maquiladora” production is for distribution in the US market. There are nearly 5 million commercial vehicles crossing the border every year.
With this new infrastructure it will relieve pressure to the congestion caused by trucks on Otay Mesa Road. The Otay Mesa Road is a street parallel to the 905, which is the only commercial land access from/to Otay Mesa Port of Entry.
A grand opening celebration was held July 18, the freeway it will be open to trucks and other commercial vehicles in a few on July 30, 2012. Present at the official opening were the Caltrans Chief Deputy Director Richard Land, San Diego City Councilmember David Alvarez; Alfonso Bustamante Anchondo, Honorary Director of Binational Affairs for the City of Tijuana; SANDAG First Vice Chair and Santee Councilmember Jack Dale; County Supervisor Greg Cox; Caltrans District 11 Director Laurie Berman; Federal Highway Administration Associate Division Administrator Rick Backlund; and Otay Mesa Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Alejandra Mier y Teran.
The freeway’s six-lane 6.4-mile project total investment cost was estimated of $441 million. This large amount of investment is a mix of local, state, and federal funds, where about $92 million for the project came from the federal stimulus program. This new Freeway will not only ease flow of commerce from/to Otay Mesa, Tijuana Border Crossing but perhaps will reduce the idle times of commercial vehicles at the border which will drastically reduce the primary cause of air pollution, registered in the area.
