Cross Border Xpress
Border crossing between Mexico and the U.S.
The Cross Border Xpress (CBX), also known as the Puerta de las Californias (Spanish for "Gateway of the Californias"), is a border crossing and port of entry that connects San Diego in the United States and Tijuana International Airport in Mexico. Operational since December 2015, CBX consists of a terminal building located in the Otay Mesa community that is connected to the airport with a dedicated 120-meter (390 ft) pedestrian bridge that travels over the United States–Mexico border.
CBX eliminates the need for travelers to navigate traditional border crossings, potentially bypassing lengthy wait times. Departing passengers check-in for their flight on the U.S. side, cross the bridge, and proceed through Mexican customs and airport security. Conversely, arriving passengers clear U.S. customs and immigration upon reaching the Otay Mesa terminal before exiting on the U.S. side.
Conceptualized in 1989 by Ralph Nieders, CBX was managed by Otay-Tijuana Venture LLC, a consortium of U.S. and Mexican companies that included PAP, PALAREO, and EGI-OTAY Investors, with financing from Invex and Bancomext. In December 2025, Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico (GAP), the operator of Tijuana International Airport, acquired CBX from Otay-Tijuana Venture LLC for $2.2 billion. GAP stated that the acquisition would integrate the facility into its airport network and support future development on the U.S. side of the border.
Facilities and operation
The CBX bridge can only be used by passengers with boarding passes for flights into or out of Tijuana International Airport. Departing passengers can access the bridge up to 24 hours before their flight, while arriving passengers have two hours after landing to cross into the U.S.
As of 2024, the fee to use the bridge varies by travel season, with one-way prices ranging from US$20 to 30.
The public source identifies “Cross Border Xpress” as border crossing between Mexico and the U.S. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Cross, Border and Xpress.
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Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 8, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q18157236. Authority coordinates are 32.548, -116.975. 1 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2015, 1989, 2025 and 2024.
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This entry incorporates text from “Cross Border Xpress” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.