NEW INTERNATIONAL BRIDGE AND PORTS OF ENTRY NEARING

UNCLAS HALIFAX 000038 SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/CAN DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHDC E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: CPAS CASC PREL ASEC ECON KHLS WHTI CA SUBJECT: NEW INTERNATIONAL BRIDGE AND PORTS OF ENTRY NEARING COMPLETION AT CALAIS-ST. STEPHEN REF: (A) 08 HALIFAX 0035; (B) 07 HALIFAX 0012 ¶1. SUMMARY: Although construction of the new U.S. Land Port of Entry (LPOE) at Calais, Maine is running slightly ahead of schedule, and the new international bridge and Canadian LPOE are nearly complete, USG officials continue to maintain the public position that the opening of the new border crossing will occur "by November." Given the thirty plus years of waiting that they have endured, it's not surprising that there is great anticipation among the local citizenry on both sides of the border to having the new bridge and border crossing open for business. END SUMMARY. ¶2. While traveling to the border on June 1 to witness and report on the first day of implementing the land and sea rule of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, we took the opportunity to revisit the site of the new U.S. LPOE at Calais, Maine. Construction crews on both sides of the border have made great progress since our earlier visits (REFTELS). According to the resident superintendant for the construction management firm supervising the LPOE project, construction of the new U.S. LPOE is currently running slightly ahead of schedule. If they are able to continue at the current pace, he expects to be able to sign over the completed project in September. ¶3. The new Canadian LPOE is basically finished and awaiting staffing by the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA). The contractor working for Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) is putting the finishing touches on the new international bridge spanning the St. Croix River. On both sides of the border the new and/or improved highways leading to the new U.S. and Canadian LPOEs are ready. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and CBSA have each hired and are now training about forty new officers in preparation for operating their respective new LPOEs. ¶4. Even though the new international bridge is still an active MDOT construction site (hard hats definitely required),Canadian authorities granted us permission to enter Canada by way of the bridge, which we crossed on foot along with the CBSA Director for southern New Brunswick. We were met on the Canadian side by a uniformed CBSA officer who dutifully checked our passports before admitting us to Canada and then locked the construction gate behind us. In contrast to the ultra-modern design of the U.S. LPOE, the design of the Canadian LPOE draws on Canada's railroad heritage, with massive, hand carved wooden pews and heavy oak countertops in the public areas. ¶5. COMMENT: The new international bridge--which locals have been waiting on for over thirty years--and the new Canadian and U.S. LPOE facilities (with their NEXUS lanes) will help solve the traffic congestion problems in downtown Calais and St. Stephen. These modern, LEED compliant, state-of-the-art passenger and commercial traffic handling facilities will certainly help solidify Calais-St. Stephen's standing as one of the busiest land border crossings in northeastern North America. END COMMENT. FOSTER