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Mexicali's modern east-side crossing (locals call it Garita Este or Nuevo Mexicali) â more lanes, all the commercial traffic, and a straight shot to Highway 7 and Interstate 8.
It closes at 10 pm. The most common mistake: showing up late at night and finding it closed. If you cross between 10 pm and 6 am, your only option is Calexico West (24 hours).
Official CBP wait time in real time, by lane type.
Source: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), updated roughly every hour.
Long line? Compare with Calexico West.
Mexicali side
On the Mexicali side it sits on the east side of the city, reached via Calzada Abelardo L. RodrĂguez / the highway to San Luis RĂo Colorado. From downtown it takes about 15-20 minutes along the calzada; the east-side approaches are signed "Garita Mexicali II".
U.S. side
1699 East Carr Rd, Calexico, CA 92231 (Highway 7). There's no walkable commercial area on the other side: the port connects straight to Highway 7, which puts you on Interstate 8 (El Centro, Yuma, San Diego) in about 6 miles.
Where the trucks cross
All Mexicali-Calexico commercial cargo goes through here (standard and FAST lanes). Heavy traffic has its own lanes and doesn't mix with passenger vehicles.
The faster pick by car: If you cross by car during regular hours: it usually has more open lanes and faster-moving lines than West. It has up to 8 passenger lanes against West's more compact layout.
SENTRI: if you have the program, this is your natural crossing during operating hours â the SENTRI lane here frequently runs under 15 minutes.
All commercial cargo crosses here (standard and FAST lanes for trucks).
On the U.S. side it connects straight to Highway 7 toward Interstate 8 (El Centro, Yuma, San Diego).
Friday afternoons and long weekends are the heaviest times.
Illustrative, digitally generated cover image.
Documents, what you can bring and general tips: full border crossings guide.
Calexico West never closes and its pedestrian crossing exits right into downtown Calexico.
See Calexico West