Otay’s truck bypass opens Monday: empty cargo rigs leave Bellas Artes for the Otay II access road

Starting Monday, Oct. 19, cargo trucks crossing at Otay will be able to use a bypass that links the Otay I port with the unused Mexican side of the future Otay II crossing, according to Mexico’s National Customs Agency (ANAM), whose announcement Zeta and San Diego Red reported on Friday. In the first phase only empty trucks can use it; trucks carrying freight are allowed starting Oct. 30.

The route runs 5.8 kilometers. Trucks enter at the interchange on Bulevar Alberto Limón Padilla and take the access viaduct to the Otay II customs facility (2.55 km), follow a marked route through the facility to its northwest exit gate (0.75 km) and then take Avenida Internacional to Otay I (2.5 km), which keeps operating as the international crossing. The speed limit is 30 km/h, and trucks can’t stay overnight inside the customs area. It will run Monday to Friday from 6 a.m. to midnight, and on Saturdays and Sundays from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 9 p.m. to midnight.

Zeta noted that the road works built on the Mexican side for Otay II had been sitting idle, while the U.S. facility might not be finished until 2028. Governor Marina del Pilar Ávila announced the opening, and San Diego Red reported that the route should speed up crossings and ease congestion in the area.

Why truckers wanted it

Israel Delgado, a national board member of the cargo trucking chamber Canacar, told Zeta that 1,000 to 1,200 empty trucks a day should switch to the bypass, leaving Bulevar Bellas Artes for Limón Padilla, an industrial route. Loaded trucks keep their usual routes for now. Delgado said exports through Otay fell about 35% to 40% in the first nine months of 2026: the crossing used to handle 4,000 to 4,500 trucks a day, traffic dropped to 2,000 to 2,500 in July and August, and it has picked up about 15% since October. Tijuana’s mobility department (Semov) will run a traffic operation on Monday to steer trucks onto the new route, according to Zeta.

What it means if you drive in Otay

• The announcements describe a cargo-only route; they don’t mention any change to passenger-car or pedestrian lanes at the Otay crossing.
• With a traffic operation planned for Monday, allow extra time around Limón Padilla and Bellas Artes; Delgado said the line of empty trucks starts forming around 5 a.m.
• Before you cross, check live wait times; our alert kit has the links.

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