SAN DIEGO – A major expansion of a processing facility at the Cross Border Xpress sky bridge to the Tijuana International Airport is expected to reduce wait times for travelers.

The nearly $100 million project, which has been years in the making, is an extension of the Cross Border Xpress, the pedestrian bridge for passengers flying out of Tijuana. It gives people a chance to cross the border between the U.S. and Mexico faster at a time when passenger traffic at the airport is climbing.

The new 430,000-square-foot addition also will help process passengers at the bridge.

In total, the expansion adds six new immigration booths, five new customs lines, two new boarding gates and 52 check-in counters.

“Essentially, it’s an expansion and one that we can be proud of,” San Diego Tourism Authority president and CEO Julie Coker said Monday. “Also too, it’s going to expedite and save folks time.”

Coker said it gives travelers options in two ways. The first, she said, is it’s about a 20-minute drive to use the Tijuana airport rather than traveling north to use the John Wayne Airport in Orange County or the Los Angeles International Airport.

The second is that using the Cross Border Xpress is “efficient and it’s very safe.”

“The expansion really is going to move people through faster,” she said. “For San Diegans, it gives you another option because they are pursuing international flight that we might not be able to get here in San Diego so it gives you a few more options. Oftentimes, the flights out of CBX are slightly less than what we are able to charge here.”

Last year, more than 2.7 million travelers crossed the bridge. With a 75% increase in security capacity, it is estimated that more than 17 million will go through the new facility to get to the airport by 2034.

See more information on how to use the Cross Border Xpress by clicking here.

FOX 5’s Dillon Davis contributed to this report.