Speech #960346726

As such. it will relieve San Ysidro of heavy truck traffic. It will also have primary and secondary inspection capabilities which will allow for much of the passenger vehicle traffic to be diverted from the heavily traveled port of entry at San Ysidro. Yearly traffic estimates by the Immigration and Naturalization Service state that 35 million people and approximately 12 million vehicles cross the international boundary northbound through San Ysidro. The congestion at this site is so heavy that U.S. citizens visiting the neighboring border State of Baja California. have experienced more than 3hour waits to reenter the United States. Mr. President. the construction of a second border crossing at OtayMesa will not only relieve the congestion at the present site. but also facilitate trade between Mexico and the United States. which. in turn. will stimulate both Mexican and American private investment in the OtayMesa area. New construciton will increase employment and create the climate to induce further investment. The Mexican Government also believes the second border crossing to be a crucial element in its development strategy for the Mexican border region. Implementation of these major public projects has been underway since 1976 within Tijuana. The projects.