Imagine checking in to a terminal in the U.S., walking across a bridge over the border, and then flying out of Mexico. Imagine the reverse. Imagine creating a customer driven terminal experience that’s not technically in a terminal—or even an airport. Moreover, imagine a facility that allows flight check-in and customs in one country and then departure from another. Intrigued? That’s the unprecedented function of San Diego’s Cross Border Xpress (CBX) that opened in December. CBX allows ticketed passengers in San Diego to park and check-in before crossing a privately-owned pedestrian bridge that crosses the US/Mexican border and drops them directly into the Tijuana International Airport. It’s a concept that’s making a significant impact on travel and commerce while demonstrating an unprecedented type of collaboration between private developers, designers, and the US Customs and Border Protection Agency (US CBP).
An Accident of Geography, A Long ‘Awaited’ Alternative
Almost by an accident of geography, the General Abelardo L. Rodriguez Airport (TIJ) in Tijuana sits just south of the US border and is a critical travel hub for travelers seeking a broad range of cost-efficient, domestic flights within Mexico and select international destinations. Historically, passengers from the U.S. bound for TIJ (more than 2 million annually) endured challenges accessing TIJ once crossing the border through one of two nearby land crossings. Typical traffic congestion encouraged many travelers to park at the border, walk across and utilize taxis to access the airport. Passengers arriving at TIJ seeking entrance into the US typically face even greater traffic congestion with unpredictable delays sometimes reaching two to four hours at the border. The result? Many TIJ passengers are exhausted either at the beginning of their air travel or at the very end because of an arduous conclusion in their itinerary.
To provide a better experience for these passengers, the Cross Border Xpress project broke ground in May 2014 and was constructed on a 17-acre site immediately north of the US/Mexico border and the TIJ terminal. After completion in late 2015, the finished facility features an 86,000-square-foot terminal building with a 390-foot sky bridge made of six, 75-ton steel sections that span across Mexico’s six-lane Via de la Juventud Ote Highway.
After accessing onsite parking, Mexico-bound passengers enter the CBX terminal building with access to ticketing counters, luggage porters, food/beverage options, and duty free shops before crossing the bridge into TIJ’s Mexico Immigration & Customs area. The US-bound passengers arriving at TIJ access the CBX bridge to walk across the border and enter the U.S. CBP area within CBX. Round trip access to the facility is approximately $30 (or $16 for a one-way ticket). From the US, access time to the airport has in many cases been reduced from several hours to a five-minute walk.
Design and Time 'Permitting'
Originally envisioned in 2008, the Cross Border Xpress project was a facility for which there was no precedent. That scenario required new strategies, processes and permits. Additionally, the building needed to look, feel and operate like a distinctive, fine-tuned international airport terminal. The project owner—Otay Tijuana Venture, LLC, a private investment group with US and Mexican shareholders — looked to Stantec and Legorreta + Legorreta to “plan and design the passenger experience.”
“Before we even really explored design, we needed to start a conversation between countries, agencies and developers to create a clear understanding of exactly what this facility was,” said Stanis Smith, Stantec executive vice president of buildings. “Every time I explained the concept, a hybrid between an airport and a land-crossing, I found myself grabbing a piece of paper and drawing it to better demonstrate.”
The project included several agreements between the US and Mexican governments and required a US Presidential Permit to proceed. During the process, designers demonstrated the positive impact the project would have on greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the number of cars waiting at traditional land crossings. Additionally, the building was designed to be 25 percent more energy efficient than required by California’s Title 24.
From the traveler perspective, the facility needed to meet and exceed expectations for a traditional terminal experience. Stantec team members drew upon their global experience with airport terminals to make sure that the flow of passengers was simple and clear, and the “wayfinding” was intuitive. The use of automation and technology also plays a key role in guiding passenger flow. As a private sponsor of the CBP, the CBX facility utilizes the best technology available to expediently process travelers arriving into the US, such as automated screens which direct pre-sorted travelers upon entry.
For passengers approaching the building’s entrance and exterior, designers from Legorreta used bold and simple forms and vibrant colors to evoke the combined “Las Californias” heritage common to both sides of the border. Also, Stantec’s landscape design responds to the arid local climate by making the open courtyard with trees and a fountain the midway point on the journey between the arrivals and departures halls of the facility. Colonnaded walkways, a deep porte cochere, and slot windows protect passengers from the relentless Otay Mesa sun.
Passengers Bridging Countries, Economies
Within its first year of operation, the Cross Border Xpress has made measurable impacts on travel and the tourism economies of both countries. The facility has accommodated more than 700,000 passengers with an average daily foot count of 4,800 and a peak use day of 5,800, which took place on July 4, 2016. The largest source markets for US-bound CBX customers within Mexico have been Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Bajio. Additionally, passenger growth within TIJ has increased 35 percent January through May, year over year, partially due to the opening of CBX.
“We’re seeing that the travelers and tourism communities of these two countries want to increasingly invest in each other,” said Elizabeth Brown, chief commercial officer for CBX.
Brown noted that smaller tourist destinations within Mexico, such as Michoacán, are beginning to advertise in Southern California to attract visitors. Likewise, the San Diego Tourism Authority and airline carriers like Aeromexico and Volaris have been hosting the familiarization tours with travel agents, social media bloggers and travel media.
“There are literally hundreds of thousands of advertising dollars being spent on both sides of the border to promote tourism because of the access … places like Michoacán, you can arrive there them from San Diego through CBX and TIJ in four hours,” she said. “That was simply unheard of before.”
Brown also noted that there is increased business travel from in Mexico City because travelers can fly into TIJ and conduct a day of business meetings in the U.S. and return to Mexico City the same day (with reciprocal opportunities).
Creating, Maintaining a Customer-Centric Workplace
In addition to growing the growing popularity among, passengers, CBX has become a favorable work location among US CBP officers. Assigned to CBX in 90-day rotations, the CBP officers have frequently requested assignment at CBX because of the streamlined facility and resources.
“CBX is a state-of-the-art facility that has provided the officers with a varied work environment, and the overwhelming majority of officers assigned to the CBX have enjoyed working there,” said US CBP Port Director Sydney Aki. “The entire project development was a collaborative process with sponsor input and aesthetic design while incorporating CBP security features that ensure our national security issues are met. The facility meets everyone’s needs.”
Operational team members from both the US CBP and CBX meet daily—spanning security personnel and CBP officers to janitorial staff—for a briefing on performance and flow of passenger traffic through the facility. Operational meetings take place monthly to discuss peak day performance and quarter evaluations are dedicated to looking ahead for increased staff needs or evolving technology needs.
Among the non-traditional tools used by CBX to gauge customer experience is social media. The firm utilizes engagement and “social listening” to track or engage with comments—positive or otherwise—being made by passenger while in the facility. Certain facility features are utilized to complement this interaction, including a distinctive monument on the bridge designed to identify the international borderline. The visual consistently doubles as a backdrop for passengers taking Instagram and Twitter photos and generates real-time passenger feedback for CBX to track.
Gaining as a Global Model
Because of the facility’s economic success, the CBX team regularly hosts economic think tanks, research groups, and foreign dignitaries that are seeking to understand the project’s business model. The Bush Institute, business students from the University of California, San Diego, and leaders from Mexico’s national tourism industry are the groups requesting site visits. As part of a study on economic impacts of border crossings, the Bush Institute representatives were assessing CBX and its potential solutions for trade.
Within the building industry, the project has earned acclaim because of the challenges in design, planning, permitting and international collaboration. The Urban Land Institute, the American Public Works Association, the Construction Management Association of America, and the Structural Engineers Association are among the entities that have recognized the facility.
“In a sentence, I describe this as an airport, without aircraft, that straddles the US and Mexican Border,” said Smith. “Wherever we are, that simple sentence starts a very powerful conversation about how two countries can work together creatively and collaboratively on a project for joint economic prosperity, while respecting their individual security needs.”
Christopher Wilson is a senior principal in the architecture practice at Stantec with more than 25 years of delivering numerous complex projects spanning several sectors, ranging from healthcare to commercial and residential and government.
Arun Kaiwar is a principal in the architecture practice at Stantec with nearly 20 years of domestic and international experience creating community spaces as an Architect, Urban Designer, and Project Manager.
