"The new border crossing at Calais-St. Stephen will make tourist and trade relations across that section of our northern border easier and more efficient. The border station is a critical component to ensuring order and security at this international gateway," said Senator Collins.
The following is the full text of Senator Collins' letter:
I am writing to urge you to ensure that the President's budget includes adequate funds for the design and construction of the border station at the new Calais-St. Stephen International Border Crossing.
The existing border crossing connecting Calais, Maine to St. Stephen, New Brunswick is heavily congested and, therefore, causes significant traffic delays and creates security concerns for U.S. and Canadian travelers and cross-border commerce. The current crossing is the 8th busiest commercial crossing on the Canadian border and has seen truck traffic double over the last ten years.
Since 1999, the Maine Department of Transportation, along with the Federal Highway Administration, and the General Services Administration have engaged in a comprehensive National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process to determine the location for a new, modern, efficient border crossing. The new border crossing will not only dramatically increase trade efficiency between the United States and Canada, but it will also improve border security.
As part of the overall project, the GSA is responsible for designing and constructing a new border station. The New Brunswick Department of Transportation (NBDOT), in partnership with Transport Canada, will fund the highway and 50% of the bridge improvements on the Canadian side of the project. The Canadian Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA) will be responsible for the design and construction of the border station on the Canadian side of the river. Funding for the design portion of this project is in place for the Maine DOT, NBDOT, and CCRA. On November 20th, the Canadian government announced that it would provide $60 million in funding for the international border crossing project. While this is a welcome development, it highlights the need for the U.S. government to provide funding for its portion of the project as soon as possible.
According to Maine DOT, if design and right-of-way funding for the GSA portion of this project is not appropriated as soon as possible, it will cause, at a minimum, a one year delay for the entire project. With Canadian funding already in place for their portion of the project, the prospect of a further delay is unacceptable. Therefore, I urge GSA to provide at least $3 million in funding for this vital project in Fiscal Year 2005.
Thank you for your consideration. Please contact me if you need any further information about this essential project.