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San Ysidro News

SENTRI Lane Conversion Work to Begin

Monday, May 09, 2005

Construction work to increase the number of lanes and to update the identification technology used in the Secure Electronic Network for Travelers Rapid Inspection (SENTRI) program at the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa ports of entry will begin this week, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials announced today.

The existing two SENTRI lanes will be upgraded to incorporate RFID (radio frequency) technology, additionally, two new SENTRI lanes will be added for a total of four SENTRI lanes at San Ysidro. San Ysidro is the world's busiest land border crossing. In San Ysidro, an average of over 7,000 vehicles daily take advantage of the SENTRI program. An average of about 2,200 vehicles currently use the SENTRI lane at the Otay Mesa border station.

The existing windshield-mounted transmitters can continue to be used by SENTRI participants until they receive the new SENTRI identification cards embedded with RFID chips, said Adele Fasano, CBP Director of Field Operations in San Diego.

Work to install the new technology will move to the single SENTRI lane at the Otay Mesa passenger port of entry following project completion at the San Ysidro port of entry. Work at the two ports should take approximately four to six weeks, Fasano said, adding that she expects the lanes to open for use this summer.

Once work finishes in the San Diego area, installation crews will move eastward to the downtown Calexico border station where equipment will be installed at the facility's first new SENTRI lane. A site survey to plan the scope of work will get underway in the coming weeks to determine when SENTRI service will start at the port following that phase of the project.

Approximately 60,000 participants currently are registered to use the SENTRI program in the San Diego and Tijuana region. Participants pay a fee, undergo a background check, and submit their vehicle for inspection before being granted the two-year border crossing privilege.