Special Report: Gridlock at the International Bridges

Bridge wait times have gotten even longer as El Paso customs officers have been relocated to California to deal with an immigrant surge.

Before we get in line at the border — the critical questions: how long is the wait, and which port of entry is faster?

There are several resources to check bridge wait times — The Customs and Border Patrol app and the “Metropia” app powered by pdnuno.com.

Customs and Border Protection officers make a visual estimate of the wait time and complement that with information from crossers themselves.

Pdnuno.com is a website that utilizes real-time bridge wait time technology powered by the “Metropia” app. It tracks crossing data as long as users have it on.

ABC-7 decided to put both apps to the test and discover how accurate the wait times would be.

ABC-7 anchor Erik Elken started at the Cuidad Juarez end of the Bridge of the Americas and waited to see how accurate the wait times would be by timing his wait time.

The CBP app stated it would take 25 minutes for passenger vehicles. Pdnuno.com stated it would be an 18 minute wait with nine lanes opens.

At the end of the commute — it took Elken one hour, 11 minutes, and 20 seconds to cross back into the United States. Times posted after his commute said a 35-minute wait on the CBP app and a 20 minute wait on pdnuno.com.

“There’s really no way to manage, or sort of track congestion and traffic at that bridge, ” said David Coronado, assistant director of the International Bridges Department for the City of El Paso.

From 18 minutes, to 25, and an actual one hour and 11 minute wait time, choosing a crossing point is a gamble.

Coronado admits the system is imperfect and knows that affects hundreds of thousands in the borderland.

“People that work in retail, manufacturing jobs, accounting, logistics, transportation, trucking. all of these industries and folks are impacted by the bridges and how bad the wait times are,” Coronado said.

It has been more than a year since the city launched pdnuno.

Coronado said the user base has reached roughly 15,000 during that time — but that number includes everything from a one-time user who then deletes the app to people who use it everyday.

“It’s so new. there is no other city in the u.s. that has it, anywhere in the u.s. the city is really pioneering with this project, but it also has a lot of weaknesses,” Coronado said.

Weaknesses crossers like Jeff Pinar can’t wait to see fixed. He brought his frustration about the CBP line reports to ABC-7.

“The times are not accurate,” Pinar said.

“I believe the method we use is accurate. We adjust throughout the day to do active lane management so that if we start to get a backup of traffic then that supervisor that’s on duty will go ahead and open up another lane,” said Jesse Proctor, CBP assistant port director in Santa Teresa.

While wait times can fluctuate, CBPs mission is about law enforcement.

The City of El Paso has a program called P-3, where they pay overtime for CBP officers during peak hours at the Paso del Norte and Ysleta ports of entry.

Last year, the city reported the program reduced wait times by 15 percent for cargo and 14 percent for passenger vehicles.

According to city documents, that program is set to expire mid-December.

Coronado said the department is working on making the wait times less shorter.

So for now, we just wait.