Arup is providing multidisciplinary engineering services for the modernisation and expansion of the Port of Entry at Calexico, located at the junction of State Highway 111 in California and Calle State Highway 111 in Mexico. The original facility is over 30 years old and cannot handle the current volume of border traffic safely and effectively, yet needs to operate fully during the upgrade and expansion.
The new Calexico West Land Port of Entry will expand to the west of the existing facility by adding an additional 100,000ft2 of canopies covering both vehicle and pedestrian inspection facilities. In addition, the project caters to an existing railroad that bisects the site and must remain operational at all times during construction.
Phased Construction
The project consists of two phases. The first phase will provide additional vehicular throughput, both northbound and southbound. Ten new northbound inspection lanes and five new southbound inspection lanes will be developed. The southbound lanes developed during the first phase will be paved with asphalt. Permanent southbound inspection facilities such as inspection islands, booths and canopies will be deferred until phase two. Phase one also includes secondary inspection areas serving the new northbound and southbound lanes, as well as a headhouse (command centre) and a bridge carrying southbound traffic across the New River before entering Mexico.
The second phase includes construction of the remaining six northbound vehicular inspection lanes, additional secondary inspection areas, an administration building, a new pedestrian processing facility, an employee parking structure, a concrete southbound roadway (replacing phase one's asphalt) and permanent southbound vehicular inspection islands, booths, and canopies.
Meeting Client Needs
The facility accommodates the future needs and overall operations for the US Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection, US Immigration, and Customs Enforcement, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services, Veterinary Services, General Services Administration, Public Buildings Service, Food and Drug Administration, US Fish and Wildlife Service, the US Border Patrol, Department of Defense, the Social Security Agency, Federal Protection Service, Federal Motor Carriage Safety Administration, and the California Department of Transportation. The design documents are in strict accordance with the US Land Port of Entry Design Guide, P130, and the GSA Facility Standards, P100.1.
