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San Luis I Port of Entry Breaks Ground On New Pedestrian Facility

Stephanie Sanchez
GSA and CBP host groundbreaking ceremony for new pedestrian processing facilty at the San Luis I Land Port of Entry. Pictured left to right: San Luis Rio Colorado mayor Jose Enrique Reina Lizarraga, Martha Garcia, District aide for the office of Congressm

State and local officials attended a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a new pedestrian annex building at the San Luis I Land Port of Entry Tuesday.

KAWC’s Stephanie Sanchez has more.

The U.S. General Services Administration and U.S. Customs and Border Protection co-hosted the groundbreaking ceremony for new pedestrian facilities.

CBP officials said the current pedestrian traffic at the port far exceeds its screening capacity.  The new building will increase the number of pedestrian inspection booths from seven to 10 lanes.

The San Luis I Land Port of Entry is the second busiest non-commercial port in Arizona, processing over 3 million vehicles and 2.5 million pedestrians each year.

Arizona governor Doug Ducey said expanding the facility will help boost economic activity on both sides of the border.

Mexico is Arizona’s number one trade partner.

"There has been addition to the budget that is front of congress right now for projects like this," Ducey said. "The state of Arizona will continue to invest and develop its economy and making sure that we are partnering not only at the local level and the county level but at the federal level so we can continue to get the good guys…the trucks, the tourism, the transit across the border more quickly.”

The 6 million dollar project includes an 8,000 square foot expansion that is expected to be completed October 2018.

Officials said the proposed design aims to lower operating and life-cycle costs despite its location in a desert climate by using solar panels, high levels of insulation and natural lighting.