Baja California Governor Marina del Pilar announced on April 1 the launch of a new 12-kilometer elevated highway connecting the Morelos interchange to the Otay border crossing in Tijuana. The project, called the Supervía Bajacaliforniana or Viaducto Elevado SUBE-T, is separate from the recently completed military-built viaduct along the border and aims to cut commute times on one of the city’s most congested corridors from 45 minutes to roughly 15.
A 20.5 Billion Peso Private Investment
The SUBE-T project carries a price tag of 20.5 billion pesos (approximately $1.1 billion USD) and is 100% privately funded. Construction is estimated to take 33 months from the project’s start date.
The elevated structure will carry six lanes above the existing roadway. At street level, a dedicated public transit corridor with 15 stations will run the length of the route. Existing lanes will not be removed during construction, so current traffic patterns are expected to remain intact.
Toll pricing will operate on a dynamic fare model, meaning costs will vary based on demand. That makes the elevated lanes an optional, pay-to-use alternative for the more than 100,000 vehicles that travel the corridor daily.
Different Project Than the Border Viaduct
This announcement comes just two weeks after Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum declared the completion of a separate elevated highway built by SEDENA (Mexico’s military engineers) along Avenida Internacional, near the U.S. border fence. That project, which cost roughly 12 billion pesos (about $650 to $700 million USD), connects Playas de Tijuana to the area near Tijuana International Airport and is free to use.
The SUBE-T project targets a different route. It runs from the Morelos interchange, a major junction on Tijuana’s existing viaduct system, east to the Otay border crossing. Otay is the primary crossing point for commercial traffic and a common alternative to San Ysidro for commuters with SENTRI passes heading to and from San Diego.
What Cross-Border Commuters Should Know
The Morelos-to-Otay corridor is one of Tijuana’s worst bottlenecks. Drivers heading to or from the Otay crossing regularly face gridlock during peak hours, with some reporting two-hour delays in the late afternoon. The SUBE-T’s six elevated toll lanes would allow drivers willing to pay to bypass that surface-level congestion entirely.
The 15-station transit corridor at street level could also provide an alternative for those who currently rely on taxis or rideshare services to reach the border. Details on the transit system’s operator, fare structure, and vehicle type have not yet been released.
Construction timelines for major Tijuana infrastructure projects have historically slipped. The SEDENA border viaduct, announced in 2021, was originally expected to finish before the end of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s term in late 2024 but was not completed until March 2026.
The SUBE-T project was reported by Tijuana en Línea on April 1, 2026.