Planned Mexico-US border crossing to involve vast tech opportunities

While defense ministry Sedena will build the Otay Mesa II border crossing in Mexico, private technology companies may still find opportunities, according to a US official overseeing works in California.

“I would say that is the area of opportunity in Mexico and the US to partner with us in technology,” Mario Orso, chief deputy district director of capital of California’s transportation agency Caltrans, told BNamericas. 

“There is going to be a lot [of opportunities] in intelligent transportation systems. This port of entry and the approach networks are going to be high technology,” he said.

The port of entry between San Diego in California and Tijuana in Baja California will require an advanced traveler information system, while an integrated operations system will intelligently link traffic operations, according to a brochure shared by the San Diego Association of Governments (Sandag).

“Sandag is the toll authority under state legislation. So we are going to have to develop a back office technology that is very important for this project. So that’s the kind of software-type of the work. But [Mexico] is going to need hardware and the hardware installation we’re [contracting] is going to be for the traditional roadway approaches, changeable message signs and all that technology,” Orso said. 

These measures will require at least two big tenders on both sides of the border.

“So we would have the software piece, which is the back office, and I would say two pieces of hardware, which are going to be toll collection in the approach management type of IPS [in-plane switching monitors],” he said. 

Orso said Sedena contacted Caltrans regarding the tenders the latter planned to launch so the ministry can launch similar ones, as systems on each side must be compatible. 

“So they're gonna need somebody who designs the system and somebody who implements the system on the Mexican side and then plug and play with us, connecting with our system,” he said.