2009-11-04 18:24:40 - KMA Architecture & Engineering has announced that construction is complete on the portable guard booths for the upgrade and expansion of the San Ysidro Border Crossing.

(SAN DIEGO) – KMA Architecture & Engineering (KMA) has announced that construction is complete on the portable guard booths for the upgrade and expansion of the San Ysidro Border Crossing, located at the San Ysidro point of entry in San Diego, California. KMA was retained by IE Pacific as part of an upgrade project instituted by the U.S. General Services

Administration (GSA) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

“The San Ysidro point of entry is currently one of the busiest border crossings in the United States” said Don Blair, President of KMA. “Our plan was to help create additional portable guard booths to speed up the process of entry from Mexico into the U.S.”

The project design includes the construction of nine portable booths to the current layout of 24 lanes of booths. The additional booths increase the ability for guards to efficiently process cars crossing the border. Four of the nine booths were designed for easy portability. These portable booths will supplement the existing booths during the upcoming construction of the new border crossing.

San Ysidro point of entry is located where Interstate 5 crosses into Mexico and it is estimated that over 17 million vehicles and 50 million people cross through that border crossing into the United States annually.

KMA provided electrical and mechanical engineering services for the project. The firm’s project team consisted of Jim Belmont, Jay Guerrero and Bill Karrasch. Mike Hayes of Burkett and Wong Engineers was the structural engineer. Hernandez Construction was the general contractor.

Headquartered in San Diego, KMA has provided integrated architectural, engineering and planning services throughout Southern California and the Western United States since 1973. The company's services include site selection assistance, land planning, programming, scheduling, project design, mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering, field supervision and construction administration. KMA also offers Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) accredited principals with expertise in the development of sustainable, high-performance buildings.