Caltrans to Test Lights as a Way to Keep Illegal Immigrants Off of I-5

A half-mile section of Interstate 5 just south of Dairy Market Road in San Ysidro will be illuminated with a dozen floodlights tonight in hopes of turning away the large number of illegal immigrants who cross the freeway in that area.

The lights--to be placed 200 feet apart on the center median--would also allow drivers to see more easily any pedestrians crossing the freeway, possibly preventing fatalities, authorities said.

The one-night, $900 experiment is designed to see if lights might reduce freeway fatalities in that area, said Jim Larson, spokesman for the California Department of Transportation.

More than 100 people have been killed near the border since 1987. The most recent accident occurred last week when a 14-year-old boy waiting to cross I-5 near the U.S.-Mexico border was killed and his brother seriously injured by a hit-and-run driver.

U.S. Border Patrol agents have a policy of not arresting illegal immigrants who try to cross the freeway, so thousands of immigrants gather in the center median every night, said Alex Awast, Border Patrol Agent in charge of the Chula Vista station.

Floodlights may be a “partial solution,” but Awast said one night would probably not be enough to make an evaluation.

But Larson, whose agency is conducting the test, said officials chose to do the experiment only one night to see if there is an immediate reduction in the number of illegal immigrants.

“If it’s not going to work, we can say, ‘So let’s trash it,’ and we’ve only spent $900,” Larson said.

“Generally, lighting freeways are a good idea,” said Phil Konstantin, spokesman for the California Highway Patrol. “It just depends on how it’s done.”

A few years ago, when authorities were having similar problems with pedestrian fatalities on Interstate 805, north of California 905, they decided to permanently light that area and there was a “marked reduction in fatalities,” Konstantin said.

“I don’t know if that was because that there were less people crossing there, or maybe motorists were being more careful,” Konstantin said.

The experiment is the latest one in a series of attempts to prevent illegal immigrants from crossing the freeway or being hurt. All eight lanes of Interstate 5 in San Ysidro near the border were reopened Thursday night after a partial eight-week closure that was designed to slow traffic so immigrants could pass across the lanes without harm. It led to more immigrants gathering in the median.

Officials last week also announced plans for the construction of a 10-foot-high fence along the I-5 median from the border to Coronado Avenue, which may cut down on the number of women and young children attempting the dangerous dash.