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San Diego City Council accepts $22.7 million grant to widen La Media Road

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Posted at 4:33 PM, Jun 29, 2021
and last updated 2021-06-29 19:33:38-04

SAN DIEGO (CNS) - The San Diego City Council Tuesday voted to accept $22.7 million in Trade Corridor Enhancement Program grant funding from the California Transportation Commission for the La Media Road Improvements Project in Otay Mesa.

The project consists of widening La Media Road from State Route 905 to the U.S.-Mexico border, critical for southbound truck traffic heading to the Otay Mesa Port of Entry. The project is also intended to improve drainage at the intersection of La Media Road and Airway Road.

"The La Media Road Project is a critical trade corridor for our economy in California," Councilwoman Vivian Moreno said. "This project will repair a vital piece of our freight transportation network and make cross border commerce more efficient while lowering greenhouse gas emissions by reducing truck idling and congestion caused by trucks on local streets."

According to the San Diego Association of Governments, California exported nearly $30 billion worth of goods to Mexico in 2019, and more than 2 million trucks carried $48 billion in imported and exported goods through the Otay Mesa Port of Entry that year. The main goal of the state grants are to fund infrastructure improvements along trade corridors with a high volume of freight movement.

The total estimated cost of the project is $42.7 million. Improvements from Siempre Viva Road near the border to Otay Truck Route will be constructed under a different project.