The Tecate Port of Entry is one three ports of entry in the
San Diego–Tijuana
San Diego–Tijuana is an international transborder agglomeration, straddling the border of the adjacent North American coastal cities of San Diego, California, United States and Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. The 2012 population of the reg ...
metropolitan region. The land port is located between
Tecate, California
Tecate is an unincorporated community in the Mountain Empire area of southeastern San Diego County, California, directly adjacent to the Mexican city of Tecate
Tecate () is a city in Tecate Municipality, Baja California. It is across ...
in
San Diego County's
Mountain Empire
The Mountain Empire is a rural area in southeastern San Diego County, California. The Mountain Empire subregion consists of the backcountry communities in southeastern San Diego County. The area is also sometimes considered part of the East ...
and
Tecate Municipality
Tecate is a municipality in the Mexican state of Baja California. Its municipal seat is located in the city of Tecate. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 108,440 inhabitants. The municipality has an area of 3,079.0 km² (1 ...
in
Baja California. It connects
California State Route 188
State Route 188 (SR 188), also known as Tecate Road, is an approximately two-mile (3 km) state highway in the U.S. state of California that connects State Route 94 in San Diego County with the Mexico – United States border. Its southern ...
with Paseo Lázaro Cárdenas, a spur of
Mexico Federal Highway 2
Federal Highway 2 ( es, Carretera Federal 2, Fed. 2) is a free part of the Mexican federal highway corridors () that runs along the U.S. border. The highway is in two separate improved segments, starting in the west at Tijuana, Baja Califor ...
, as well as
Federal Highway 3 to the south. It is a minor port in comparison to the larger
San Ysidro Port of Entry and
Otay Mesa Port of Entry
The Otay Mesa Port of Entry (Spanish: ''Puerto de Entrada Mesa de Otay'') is one of three ports of entry (POE) in the San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan region, in the U.S. state of California, connecting Otay Mesa in the City of San Diego with th ...
. This is attributed in part to the fact that reaching the crossing on the US side requires driving on narrow, winding mountain roads.
History
The original port of entry was established sometime prior to 1919 to inspect the traffic traveling from
Tecate
Tecate () is a city in Tecate Municipality, Baja California. It is across the Mexico-US border from Tecate, California. As of 2019, the city had a population of 108,860 inhabitants, while the metropolitan area has a population of 132,406 inha ...
, BC Mexico in large part to shop at the Thing Brothers store (later the Johnson store) on the US side of the border. The current historic border inspection station (where pedestrians continue to be inspected) was built in 1933; this building was listed on the U.S.
National Register of Historic Places in 1992. In 2005 the port was re-opened as an expansion project was completed. Vehicular traffic is now inspected in a new facility attached to the rear of the historic port. The expanded port cost US$18 million and had approximately five times as much space as the original 1933 facility.
See also
*
List of Mexico–United States border crossings
*
List of Canada–United States border crossings
References
External links
Otay Mesa Land Port of Entry Fact Sheet
{{San Diego–Tijuana
Ports of Entry in San Diego–Tijuana
National Register of Historic Places in San Diego County, California
Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in California