SANDAG, in cooperation with Caltrans, has conducted an extensive study to gauge the economic impacts of border wait times on the binational economy.

Each day, more than 136,000 cars and 6,200 trucks, and nearly 340,000 people, travel between the United States and Mexico via the San Ysidro, Otay Mesa, and Tecate border crossings — making the San Diego-Baja California point of entry one of the busiest in the Americas.

Compiled from more than 3,600 surveys of border crossers at San Ysidro, Otay Mesa, and Tecate stations - at today’s average wait time of 45 minutes, more than eight million trips into the San Diego region are lost as many simply choose to avoid battling the congestion. This equates to a loss of nearly $1.3 billion in potential revenues – mostly in the retail sector; three million potential working hours; 28,000 to 35,000 jobs; and $42 million in wages annually. Excessive border waits also are affecting overall regional productivity. The total economic impact on the San Diego region is an output loss of between $2 billion and $2.5 billion per year.

In Baja California, border waits result in more than 2 million trips lost that may cause the loss of about $120 million in revenues - mostly in the food and lodging sector. The total output loss is estimated at between $100 million and $230 million per year.

Results reveal that failing to address delays at the border now will lead to greater problems in the future. If wait times were to increase by just 15 minutes, an additional $1 billion in productivity and 134,000 jobs would be lost in the binational border region. The next phase of the study will use SANDAG’s economic model to gauge the economic impact of border delays to freight movements on the binational region.

Project Manager:
Elisa Arias
619-699-1936