Independent editorial resource
Otay Mesa–Tijuana border wait times: live commercial truck radar
Live commercial truck and passenger wait times for Otay Mesa and San Ysidro (Tijuana–San Diego), with an 8-week CBP baseline and weekly congestion pattern.
An independent operational indicator showing whether Otay Mesa Commercial truck lanes (Tijuana–San Diego) are running normal, elevated or severely congested. It reads live public CBP data for Otay Mesa Commercial, Otay Mesa Passenger and San Ysidro, built for Baja California IMMEX plants, drayage carriers and Otay Mesa distribution warehouses.
Commercial freight signal · Otay Mesa–Tijuana
ElevatedElevated wait indicated in commercial freight lanes (Otay Mesa Commercial: 60 min). Estimate based on public CBP data; verify against official sources.
Suggested action: Elevated wait: check the impact on drayage, transport documentation and warehouse cutoff.
Operating hours and data availability
Commercial truck lanes at Otay Mesa (Port 250602) operate on defined schedules with reduced overnight and weekend windows; San Ysidro handles passenger vehicles only. A "closed" or "N/A" status outside commercial operating hours is normal.
Check current hours and minute-by-minute waits at bwt.cbp.gov before dispatching.
Commercial freight crossings
Otay Mesa Commercial
- Commercial · standard
- 60 min
- Commercial · FAST
- 15 min
- Passenger · standard
- N/A
Elevated wait; review drayage and warehouse window.
Passenger crossings
Otay Mesa Passenger
- Passenger · standard
- 110 min
- Commercial · standard
- N/A
San Ysidro
- Passenger · standard
- 105 min
- Commercial · standard
- N/A
Historical baseline (same weekday and hour)
Current wait compared against the historical average for this same hour, using our own readings collected every 20 minutes.
Loading baseline…
Weekly pattern of commercial waits
Average wait by weekday and hour at Otay Mesa Commercial, from our own readings collected every 20 minutes over the last 8 weeks. Local port time.
Heaviest hour of the week: Tue 15:00 · 44 min
| Día | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | ||||||||
| Mon | 26 | 30 | 28 | 21 | 22 | 24 | 27 | 27 | 30 | 25 | 25 | 24 | 21 | 16 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 4 | ||||||
| Tue | 35 | 36 | 33 | 31 | 30 | 32 | 31 | 38 | 42 | 44 | 43 | 39 | 32 | 23 | 17 | 8 | 3 | 3 | ||||||
| Wed | 30 | 33 | 27 | 27 | 28 | 31 | 34 | 32 | 32 | 30 | 34 | 36 | 28 | 27 | 24 | 22 | 24 | 14 | 12 | |||||
| Thu | 30 | 30 | 31 | 28 | 26 | 26 | 28 | 34 | 33 | 33 | 32 | 31 | 28 | 24 | 16 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 9 | |||||
| Fri | 33 | 34 | 30 | 33 | 34 | 30 | 34 | 37 | 35 | 35 | 38 | 36 | 33 | 29 | 19 | 13 | 10 | 8 | 8 | |||||
| Sat | 33 | 38 | 34 | 25 | 19 | 14 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Based on 2,392 readings. Blank cells are hours with no reported commercial wait, usually outside operating hours.
What the Otay Mesa weekly pattern shows
Among the eight US–Mexico freight corridors we track every 20 minutes, Otay Mesa Commercial (Port 250602) stands out for one structural reason: its queue almost never clears to zero. While crossings like Nogales or Calexico East empty out overnight, Otay Mesa maintains a baseline floor near 30 minutes even in early morning hours.
The heavy window runs from 13:00 to 18:00 Pacific Time, with the weekly high landing on Friday afternoons when Tijuana's high-SKU electronics, medical-device and aerospace IMMEX plants push out end-of-week production runs into San Diego distribution centers. Because Otay Mesa warehouses sit minutes from the primary inspection booths, missing a broker cutoff or triggering a secondary examination over pedimento line-item discrepancies immediately pushes Friday freight into weekend storage.
Frequently asked questions
Which crossing handles commercial trucks between Tijuana and San Diego?
All commercial cargo between Tijuana and San Diego crosses through the Otay Mesa Commercial Port of Entry (CBP port 250602), adjacent to the Otay Mesa industrial corridor on both sides of the border. San Ysidro (250401) is strictly a passenger and pedestrian port.
What is the typical weekly congestion pattern at Otay Mesa Commercial?
In our 20-minute CBP dataset, Otay Mesa is the only major commercial crossing we track whose baseline rarely drops below 15 minutes — even early-morning readings hover around a 30-minute floor. The heaviest congestion window runs from 13:00 to 18:00, peaking on Friday afternoons when end-of-week plant shipments from Tijuana electronics, medical device and aerospace maquiladoras converge.
When is Calexico East–Mexicali an alternative to Otay Mesa?
For freight originating in eastern Baja California (Mexicali or Tecate), Calexico East averages under 23 minutes even at peak hours, though it operates on a strict 05:00–20:00 reporting window. For plants inside Tijuana, however, the mountain grade on Highway 2D (La Rumorosa) and customs broker jurisdiction usually keep freight anchored at Otay Mesa.
Where do these Otay Mesa wait times come from?
From the public U.S. Customs and Border Protection Border Wait Times feed, read live and compared against our 8-week historical baseline for the same weekday and hour. Verify directly with CBP and your customs broker before dispatching.
Source and limitations
Data: CBP Border Wait Times (public feed). This page is an independent editorial interpretation operated by Heberey LLC; it is not an official page of CBP or of any Mexican authority. Verify against official sources before dispatching. Read the methodology.