Tijuana-U.S. crossings see six-hour waits
- Border crossings from Tijuana to the U.S. have seen wait times up to six hours, drivers reported. - Long early-morning queues have complicated access, with reports from multiple crossing points and neighborhoods like Leandro Valle. - Officials need to address infrastructure and staffing to reduce delays and cross-border disruptions (tvaztecabajacalifornia.com)
Drivers crossing from Tijuana into the United States reported waits of up to six hours on April 20, with lines forming before dawn. (tvaztecabajacalifornia.com) TV Azteca Baja California reported the longest delays began around 4 a.m., and some drivers said they had already spent more than four hours in line by early morning. (tvaztecabajacalifornia.com) The backups hit Tijuana’s main northbound crossings, including San Ysidro and Otay Mesa, where local reports in recent days have also described vehicle lines stretching into city streets. On April 17, TV Azteca said the Otay vehicle queue had reached Bulevar Lázaro Cárdenas. (tvaztecabajacalifornia.com) Official and private wait-time trackers showed the strain even outside the worst reported moments. On April 20, TV Azteca listed San Ysidro at 2 hours 30 minutes for regular vehicle lanes and 2 hours 16 minutes for standard pedestrian crossings, while Otay Mesa showed 1 hour 21 minutes in regular vehicle lanes and 1 hour 49 minutes in Ready Lane. (tvaztecabajacalifornia.com) The San Ysidro port is the busiest land border crossing in the Western Hemisphere, linking Tijuana and San Diego for workers, students, shoppers, and freight every day. Even routine slowdowns can spill into neighborhoods on the Mexican side and disrupt commutes on both sides of the line. (bwt.cbp.gov) U.S. Customs and Border Protection says its processing goals, when infrastructure allows, are 15 minutes for SENTRI and about half the general-lane wait for Ready Lanes. The April 20 delays reported in Tijuana were far above those targets. (bwt.cbp.gov) Recent daily snapshots show the problem is not limited to one morning. On April 6, TV Azteca reported San Ysidro waits ranging from 41 minutes in regular vehicle lanes to 1 hour 8 minutes in Ready Lane, while Otay Mesa showed 1 hour 10 minutes in regular lanes and 1 hour 38 minutes in Ready Lane. (tvaztecabajacalifornia.com) Third-party live trackers on April 22 also showed heavy northbound traffic, with Border Times listing San Ysidro at about 90 minutes in general vehicle lanes and Otay Mesa at about 100 minutes. Those figures were below the six-hour reports, but they pointed to continued congestion at both crossings. (border-times.com) For cross-border commuters, the practical effect is simple: leaving at dawn no longer guarantees a quick crossing, and delays at San Ysidro and Otay can consume most of a workday before it starts. (tvaztecabajacalifornia.com)
