OTAY MESA – Northbound crossers at the Otay Mesa port of entry can expect some relief Sunday with the test opening of four additional passenger-vehicle lanes between 5 and 8 p.m.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection will open the port's cargo lanes for passenger cars, with the possibility of doing so permanently to relieve congestion on Sundays and holidays.

The one-day test is scheduled to occur after the closing of the cargo lanes, which are open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays.

Customs and Border Protection will study staffing, lighting and security, spokesman Vincent Bond said.

A similar test was conducted May 18, but only 300 vehicles were processed, and the agency is hoping to draw at least twice that number Sunday.

Wait times at crossings all along the U.S.-Mexico border have grown longer under U.S. security measures instituted after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. A recent study by the Tijuana-based think tank, el Colegio de la Frontera Norte, listed the Tijuana crossings as the most congested, both for passenger and truck traffic.

“We're hoping to employ new strategies that will reduce wait times while the long-term infrastructure needs are being addressed,” Bond said.

The idea of opening the Otay Mesa lanes came out of a local working group that sought ways to reduce traffic at the San Diego passenger crossings.

“We all liked the idea very much,” said Alejandra Mier y Teran, a member of the group and director of the Otay Mesa Chamber of Commerce. “It's taking advantage of existing infrastructure that's not being used at a peak hour, when we need it most.”

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Sandra Dibble: (619) 293-1716; sandra.dibble@uniontrib.com