Thousands of hours of human lives and thousands of gallons of gas were saved this week at the San Ysidro Port of Entry after seven lanes that had been shut down during construction of the revamped border crossing were reopened and manned for the first time in more than two years. On social media, commuters are expressing their happiness and relief, and are hoping that this is the new norm.

On Sunday evening, which is one of the peak crossing times due to all the people returning back home after visiting Mexico over the weekend, wait times can range from two to four hours in the standard and Ready lanes. Last night, reports indicated that wait times were well under an hour. Monday mornings are also peak crossing times, with the 8am average being just under 2.5 hours. This morning, as I write this, the reported wait time for both standard and Ready lanes according the the Customs and Border Protection's website is "no delay, " which means that it is probably less than 15 minutes long.

The former 1970's structure has been replaced with 25 double-stacked northbound lanes, which means that (technically) there could be 46 inspection booths processing an estimated average of 50,000 vehicles at the busiest border crossing in the world. There is still work to be done, including the second and third phases to construct new facilities to process the estimated average of 25,000 pedestrians per day, and to add nine additional vehicular lanes, and the rerouting of southbound lanes into Mexico.

During the next few months, as construction continues, it is expected that one to three lanes may be closed intermittently to finalize work. Back in April of 2013, authorities opened 43 booths during one long weekend as a test to determine how additional lanes improve border wait times. The results then were the same as they are now that the reopening is permanent: it makes a huge difference. Over the long-term, the decreased wait times can literally change the lives and lifestyles of border crossers.

The new border crossing will also include artwork, including an installation of rippling light over the processing booths activated by the passing cars. The U.S. General Services Administration, which is in charge of the construction and administration of the border crossing facility, will be investing $500,000 to commision artists to create new artwork for the border. The cost of the entire project, once completed including all three phases, is almost $750 million dollars.

With the full infrastructure now in place, border crossers' main concern is whether there will be sufficient staff to man all available booths. Setting aside the toll that long border wait times take on border crossers' health (not to mention the environment and border relations) and if it all comes down to dollars and cents, then there should be no reason why the border shouldn't be manned at full capacity. Estimates by the San Diego Association of Governments projects an 87 percent increase in traffic by 2030.

It is estimated that $7.2 billion dollars in gross output is lost each year in the U.S. Mexico economies, not to mention an probable loss of 62,000 jobs according to the most recent (outdated) 2007 study by SANDAG. Mexico is also tremendously harmed by the long border waits, which scare away investors, potential home buyers, and tourists. When you consider the fact that a survey by Crossborder Group, Inc. indicates that close to half of those that cross through border crossings are US Citizens, dual nationals, or US permanent Residents, and hence, are almost definitely paying federal taxes.

The only people that are unhappy with the reduced wait times are the border line vendors, whose stream of customers has practically dried up. Also, pedestrian border crossers that are still waiting long times to pass through dilapidated infrastructure. The current wait times for pedestrians, at 8am, is reportedly two hours for both Standard Lanes and the Readylane. This is a long time to stand on your feet, especially if you still have to put in an eight hour day once you've crossed.

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