San Luis I port expected to double by 2013

SAN LUIS, Ariz. - San Luis I port of entry will be almost double the size by the time expansion is completed.

Beginning of construction is scheduled for mid-2011, according to Anthony Kleppe, director for the project that will be done by General Services Administration (GSA), the federal agency that manages the building and installation for the border ports of entry.

Kleppe led a public meeting Thursday in the San Luis council chambers to present the project and gather opinions and proposals from the community.

"The commercial operation of the current port will be moved to San Luis II as soon as construction is finished, projected to be at the end of 2009, or early 2010," said Kleppe. "Then a temporary operation similar to the Sentri program will begin until funds are obtained to expand it.

Kleppe believes that funds will be available for fiscal year 2011 and that "at that point we will begin the construction that will take 24 months to build."

"The formidable part of this project, in comparison to others that we have had, is that when the commercial traffic is moved, we will have a large area that will not be used, and it will allow us to construct a private vehicle crossing in the old commercial area."

Once the 11 lanes are constructed at the port of entry, with a wide area for secondary inspections, the expansion will begin to the west of the main building, where the pedestrian crossing is now.

In the area where private vehicles currently cross, three lanes will be dedicated to buses with passengers, recreational vehicles, bicycles and motorcycles. The lanes will be designated as HOV (high occupational vehicles) lanes.

To the north of the building, where currently secondary inspections operate, a large parking lot will be built for employees and officials, as well as a K-9 installation.

Kleppe said all renovations should be completed by 2013, with strong benefits for the region, most of all with vehicles coming at a faster pace to the U.S.

"Presently we have six lanes for vehicle crossing. We are planning 11 lanes, almost doubling the capacity. One of the major complaints is the long wait for pedestrians to cross; there we will also double the size of our installations."

The pedestrian and vehicle crossings will each have a lane dedicated to the Sentri program, operated by Department of Customs and Border Protection. Participants obtain a faster crossing, bypassing normal inspection process.

Conversations are happening between the city of San Luis and Arizona Department of Transportation to determine all the possible adjustments that are needed to the local traffic for the new conditions of the port of entry, although the total investment (close to $80 million) will be exclusively federal monies.

"There will probably be changes to streets. But one of the things that we have said is that future plans for the city need to be considered, because in the end this is not only a federal government project, it should help the region and work with the community in resolving some of the problems," Kleppe said.

Very few people attended the meeting, where opinions were being collected for the final proposal that should be finalized by next year.

GSA is accepting comments and opinions on the project until Dec. 5 by e-mail at GSASanLuis@parsons.com.