Checkpoint Back in Business; More Than 150 Intercepted : Immigration: Border Patrol post had been closed for six weeks but will remain open at least until February.

Border Patrol officials said Monday that they intercepted more than 150 people trying to enter the country illegally at the San Clemente checkpoint, which reopened Sunday after being closed for six weeks.

“It’s average,” said Ted Swofford, assistant Border Patrol agent. “We were productive, and it’s good to get back into operation.”

Caltrans officials estimate that 110,000 vehicles a day pass through the four-lane checkpoint, Swofford said.

Despite heavy weekend traffic that caused minor delays Sunday, officials say they do not expect daily traffic to be delayed more than 15 minutes.

“It’s not a problem at all,” Swofford said. “Not any more so than it was two months ago.”

Within a few hours of its reopening, Border Patrol agents also stopped a vehicle carrying 654 pounds of marijuana and arrested two men.

All 93 San Clemente Border Patrol agents have returned from the Imperial Beach station by the border to the checkpoint along Interstate 5, Swofford said. To take their place at the border are more than 80 new Border Patrol agents. Another 150 agents are also on their way there, Swofford said.

The station will operate until February, when it will close for two weeks before reopening again. At that time, Immigration and Naturalization Service officials are expected to decide whether the checkpoint is effective enough to be kept open, Swofford said.

“I personally think we’re better at the (San Clemente) checkpoint,” he said. “A defensive squad on a football team does not put all their people on one line. We need the secondary line of defense.”