Bridge was decades in the making
Published Thursday November 26th, 2009
CALAIS - The international community on the St. Croix Valley will benefit from the third bridge linking St. Stephen to Calais, officials said.
The new $65-million United States Customs and Border Protection facility will serve "twin goals of securing the American homeland at the same time as facilitating trade and travel," Thomas S. Winkowski, assistant commissioner of field operations, said in a speech.
Traffic began flowing across the bridge in both directions a little more than a week ago but 125 invited guests, plus Customs and Border Protection staff gathered earlier this week for official ceremonies to open the facilities at the American end of the bridge.
"This is one of the fun things I get to do, coming out of Washington, D.C.," Winkowski said.
"This was decades in the making," Maine department of Transportation Commissioner David Cole said in his remarks. "This is a local story. This is about Calais and St. Stephen getting together to solve the horrendous lineups."
The project advanced when governments on both sides of the border moved it to the top of the priority list for funding in 2005.
"This goes beyond our border communities," he said. "This effectively pulls Saint John and Bangor closer together."
"It goes beyond Calais and St. Stephen," said U.S. Senator Susan Collins told news reporters following the official speeches.
"Many people don't realize that Canada is our biggest trading partner," she said.
The long line-ups, now a thing of the past, at the old Ferry Point and Milltown bridges prompted the demand on both sides of the river for a third crossing to ease congestion at what Collins called the sixth busiest United States entry port.
The $65 million for the new entry port plus $12 million for the bridge itself brought the cost of the project to $77 million on the American side, said Glenn Rotondo, an official with the United States General Services Administration in town from Boston, said in an interview. Roadwork on the American side cost another $10 million.
This does not include the cost on the Canadian side, including a new four-lane Highway from Waweig to divert traffic around St. Stephen to the bridge.
Diverting trucks and other through traffic to the new bridge equipped to handle them should free up the old Ferry Point and Milltown bridges for local traffic and visitors who actually want to stop in the two communities - if the plan works.
Following the ceremonies Keith Fleming, United States Customs and Border Protection area director, took Collins, Congressman Michael H. Michaud and others on a tour.
The back area where the public doesn't usually go includes two detention cells and a canine section with kennels. The surveillance gadgetry includes X-rays and cameras aimed to read and record licence plate numbers.
The secondary inspection bay has a hoist big enough to lift a big recreational vehicle to check the undercarriage.
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I also noted yesterday morning that there was a full bridge of cars heading to the States at Ferry point and they had 2 lanes open. That shows that local shoppers are using downtown.
We will survive but it will take time to adjust. Traffic patterns will not develop for at least 2 years.