$308 Million San Luis Port of Entry Expansion Breaks Ground in Yuma County

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs called it long overdue. Standing at the San Luis I Land Port of Entry on June 27, 2023, she and U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly joined a gathering that stretched from San Luis Mayor Nieves Riedel to Yuma County Supervisors Martin Porchas and Jonathan Lines to mark the start of a $308 million modernization that will fundamentally reshape how people and goods move between Yuma County and Mexico.

The project, awarded by the U.S. General Services Administration to Hensel Phelps Construction Co. in September 2022, will double northbound vehicle lanes from 8 to 16 and expand pedestrian inspection lanes from 10 to 14. Beyond the lane count, the redesigned facility will add vehicle inspection canopies, a secondary vehicle processing area, and a new administration building. Construction had already begun in May 2023, weeks before the ceremonial groundbreaking.

"This modernization and expansion project will drastically improve efficiencies at the port of entry including reducing border wait times and deploying the latest technology to identify high-risk activity like drug trafficking," Hobbs said during remarks at the Cesar Chavez Cultural Center following the ceremony.

The scale of need at San Luis I is not abstract. The port processes more than 3 million vehicles and 2.5 million pedestrians each year, serving as a primary entry point for migrant field laborers bound for Yuma County's agricultural operations and supporting the retail economy on both sides of the border. San Luis resident Angel Hernandez, who crosses on foot two to three times a week to visit family in San Luis Río Colorado, represents the daily reality those numbers describe.

GSA has described the redesigned facility as the first fully electric, net-zero energy land port of entry in the United States. The all-electric design incorporates water-saving and energy-production features, a sustainability commitment reinforced when GSA announced an additional $100 million green expansion investment in March 2024.

Funding for the project draws from multiple federal streams. GSA's Public Buildings Service initially awarded a $267.8 million design-build contract, partially supported by $104.9 million from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. A subsequent contract modification added $92 million in Inflation Reduction Act funding, bringing the total construction cost inclusive of modifications to $341 million, according to a GSA Office of Inspector General report. The GSA press release issued at the groundbreaking cited the project at $308 million.

Donald Stakes, executive director of the Office of Field Office Mission Support Directorate for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, told those gathered that temporary lane closures would be unavoidable but manageable. "This project will be done in phases so the port of entry will remain open during construction," Stakes said, noting that San Luis is one of 25 port improvement projects underway on U.S. borders with Mexico and Canada. GSA's current project status shows temporary roadway and lane closures remain in effect through Spring 2026, with completion now projected for Spring 2029.

The modernization carries added weight given the port's economic role. According to University of Arizona data reported by KJZZ, the U.S. exported roughly $800 million worth of goods through the San Luis crossing in the year prior to March 2026. That figure sits alongside a parallel development: in March 2026, Sonora Governor Alfonso Durazo broke ground on a roughly $21 million modernization of the Mexican side of the crossing in San Luis Río Colorado, the westernmost border entry point into Arizona from Mexico, located about 20 miles south of Yuma.

The groundbreaking also drew Yuma Mayor Doug Nicholls, Somerton Mayor Jerry Anaya, GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan, and San Luis Río Colorado Mayor Santos Gonzalez Yescas, reflecting the binational significance of a port that has operated on this stretch of the border since its original construction in 1984.