A welcoming border crossing where no one slips through the cracks

San Ysidro Land Port of Entry - Phase 1B

The San Ysidro border crossing—set between San Diego, California and Tijuana, Mexico—is the busiest Land Port of Entry (LPOE) in the world and processes over 50,000 vehicles and 25,000 pedestrians each day. The U.S. Government had to meet an expected 70 percent increase in traveler capacity by 2030, but they also aimed to provide a more efficient and secure port while improving the overall San Ysidro experience. So, when they were designing a facility upgrade, they brought our team in to help with the mission-critical lighting and security design.

Not only would we help with the demolition of the existing building, but we would stay to provide the lighting and security design for the construction of the new port. The new San Ysidro facility consists of 225,000 square feet of building space, 30 inbound vehicle lanes with 60 inspection booths, one bus lane, and six outbound vehicle lanes—which meant a lot of lights and ample security.

The LPOE set high standards for illumination, uniformity, and sustainability, and our design would meet those requirements while incorporating the latest in security and antiterrorism enhancements. Our efforts also included the inspection area, administration building, pedestrian building, and other support structures. This was the first of a three phase project at the San Ysidro Land Port of Entry.