With the most unsettling work done, all is calm at the world's busiest border crossing—the 40-acre San Ysidro Land Port of Entry, which is nearly four years into a three-phase $741-million transformation. Once worrisome, the incessant hum of the 50,000 vehicles that line up each day to cross into California from Mexico is now music to the ears of the members of the SYLPOE team, who, for three-plus years, had to keep more than 24 lanes of traffic moving 24/7 through an active jobsite.
The team is in a celebratory mood, having conquered the most grueling part of the decade-long overhaul: the $299-million first phase. The 46 new northbound vehicle-inspection booths, configured in tandem pairs, have slashed inspection wait times to 15 to 45 minutes from as long as four hours. The team also is celebrating the successful operation of the new non-potable-water, wastewater-treatment and energy systems that make SYLPOE the most self-sufficient border crossing anywhere.