The airport in Tijuana, Mexico, is literally within walking distance of the U.S.-Mexico border. And cross-country travel is now a bit easier with the Dec. 9 opening of Cross Border Xpress, a 390-foot-long, 33-foot wide skywalk bridge for use by ticketed airline passengers to cross between San Diego and Tijuana Airport.
This is the first project to join a foreign airport terminal with the U.S., according to the Los Angeles Times, which reports that the $120 million private venture expects to serve 2.4 million fliers annually.
The CBX terminal, located on 55 acres between the border crossings at San Ysidro and Otay Mesa on the California side, is open 24 hours a day, and six airlines—Aeromexico, Aeromexico Connect, Interject, VivaAerobus (a no-frills carrier that doesn’t operate in southern California), Volaris, and Aero Califia—provide customer service.
“A project of this magnitude was no small feat and took cooperation from a large number of stakeholders in the United States and Mexico to make it a reality,” says Jim Kilgore, Senior Associate with Latitude 33, the San Diego-based planning and engineering firm that, in association with Otay-Tijuana Venture LLC, provided land entitlements, construction documents, and construction staking services for this project. “Travel, tourism, business and access to both San Diego and Tijuana will be much improved as a result of this facility.”
Otay-Tijuana Venture is a private investment group with U.S. and Mexican shareholders that include PAP Corp., PALAREO Inc., and EGI-Otay Investors. Invex and Banomext were the lenders for this project.
The CBX facility is a collaboration between the Mexico-based architectural firm Legorreta y Legorreta and Stantec. In Mexico, the contractors included Grumesa, Espazio, Corey and Fercon Qualitas. U.S. contractors included The Harrison Company, Hazard Construction, and Turner Construction.
Here’s how CBX works. Passengers flying into Tijuana International Airport pick up their bags and then purchase or print a CBX ticket at the baggage claim area. (Crossings are free through Dec. 18, and then $18 one way for adults, with discounts for seniors and children.) They can skywalk across the border to the terminal in San Diego County, where they can catch a cab, bus, shuttle or Uber to downtown San Diego, 22 miles away, or other destination points. U.S. Customs mans a checkpoint at the bridge for those people entering the country.
Conversely, passengers coming from San Diego can purchase and print CBX and airline tickets at the full-service terminal, and use the skywalk to access the airport in Mexico, which offers flights to 50 cities.
CBX’s backers estimate that U.S. passengers currently account for nearly 60% of that airport’s customers.
“This will be a great new option for travel between the U.S. and Mexico,” Jerry Sanders, president and CEO of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, told Fox 5 in San Diego.
The 90,000-sf terminal is the first phase of a 60-acre site that will incorporate two hotel sites, as well as commercial, office, industrial, and shipping facilities over this project’s 10-year buildout.
Related Stories
| Jan 11, 2014
Getting to net-zero energy with brick masonry construction [AIA course]
When targeting net-zero energy performance, AEC professionals are advised to tackle energy demand first. This AIA course covers brick masonry's role in reducing energy consumption in buildings.
| Dec 13, 2013
Safe and sound: 10 solutions for fire and life safety
From a dual fire-CO detector to an aspiration-sensing fire alarm, BD+C editors present a roundup of new fire and life safety products and technologies.
| Dec 10, 2013
16 great solutions for architects, engineers, and contractors
From a crowd-funded smart shovel to a why-didn’t-someone-do-this-sooner scheme for managing traffic in public restrooms, these ideas are noteworthy for creative problem-solving. Here are some of the most intriguing innovations the BD+C community has brought to our attention this year.
| Nov 27, 2013
Wonder walls: 13 choices for the building envelope
BD+C editors present a roundup of the latest technologies and applications in exterior wall systems, from a tapered metal wall installation in Oklahoma to a textured precast concrete solution in North Carolina.
| Nov 26, 2013
Construction costs rise for 22nd straight month in November
Construction costs in North America rose for the 22nd consecutive month in November as labor costs continued to increase, amid growing industry concern over the tight availability of skilled workers.
| Nov 25, 2013
Building Teams need to help owners avoid 'operational stray'
"Operational stray" occurs when a building’s MEP systems don’t work the way they should. Even the most well-designed and constructed building can stray from perfection—and that can cost the owner a ton in unnecessary utility costs. But help is on the way.
| Nov 19, 2013
Top 10 green building products for 2014
Assa Abloy's power-over-ethernet access-control locks and Schüco's retrofit façade system are among the products to make BuildingGreen Inc.'s annual Top-10 Green Building Products list.
| Nov 15, 2013
Metal makes its mark on interior spaces
Beyond its long-standing role as a preferred material for a building’s structure and roof, metal is making its mark on interior spaces as well.
| Nov 13, 2013
Installed capacity of geothermal heat pumps to grow by 150% by 2020, says study
The worldwide installed capacity of GHP systems will reach 127.4 gigawatts-thermal over the next seven years, growth of nearly 150%, according to a recent report from Navigant Research.
| Oct 30, 2013
11 hot BIM/VDC topics for 2013
If you like to geek out on building information modeling and virtual design and construction, you should enjoy this overview of the top BIM/VDC topics.
