MAPPING THE BORDER: CONSTRUCTION UNDERWAY ON NEW U.S. LAND

UNCLAS HALIFAX 000035 SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/CAN, CA/PPT/IA/WHTI E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON PGOV PREL CPAS ASEC WHTI CA SUBJECT: MAPPING THE BORDER: CONSTRUCTION UNDERWAY ON NEW U.S. LAND PORT OF ENTRY AT CALAIS, MAINE--NEW BRIDGE AND CANADIAN FACILITY ON SCHEDULE REF: (A) HALIFAX 0028; (B) 07 HALIFAX 0012 ¶1. According to the GSA Regional Office in Boston, the contractor building the new Land Port of Entry (LPOE) for DHS/CBP at Calais, Maine, has completed about 10% of the work. Meanwhile, the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) contractor building the new international bridge across the St. Croix River is on schedule to finish by September 2008 and the new Canadian LPOE is expected to be built by the end of December ¶2008. Thus, there is a strong likelihood that the new bridge will sit idle for ten months while commercial and tourist traffic continue clog the streets of Calais, ME, and St. Stephen, NB. GSA expects the contractor to complete the entire $48 million, 52-acre facility by November 2009. Despite efforts by GSA, it appears highly unlikely that the construction of the LPOE can be sequenced so as to accommodate a partial opening for commercial-only traffic in the summer of 2009. ¶2. The U.S. construction firm began working on the new U.S. LPOE in February 2008; however, the official ground breaking ceremony occurred in mid-April. Maine's Governor John Baldacci, Senator Susan Collins, and Congressman Mike Michaud were on hand for the event, as was GSA Administrator Doan. In her speech, Administrator Doan noted that, "This is the first time in our nation's history that we have four new Land Ports of Entry...all under construction at one time." Two of the four are on the southern border. The other two are in Jackman and Calais, Maine. ¶3. Administrator Doan went on to say that, "GSA is igniting a building boom at land ports across the nation, building what we can, where we can, as fast as we can. We need more inspection booths, roads, bridges, and other infrastructure to meet demands from legitimate trade and travelers who are too often caught in long lines...Expect GSA to push this issue with even greater urgency--not tomorrow, but today. We will build on the excellent start already made in Calais and Jackman. Our focus will be to identify, approve and begin construction on a number of projects, both large and small, at every single land port where traffic is stalled." (NB: GSA Administrator Doan announced her resignation on April 30, 2008. David Bibb is now Acting Administrator.) ¶4. COMMENT: Having construction underway on the new U.S. LPOE project in Calais is a positive development that will eventually lead to the decongestion of the streets of Calais and St. Stephen. Still, the asynchronous construction schedules will mean that we can anticipate continued complaints and political pressure from businesses and travelers (from both sides of the border) who are caught up in the ongoing delays at the existing crossings at Ferry Point and Milltown--especially if the new bridge and Canadian border facility are completed on time, ten months ahead of the U.S. facility. END COMMENT. FOSTER