Bridge agency to seek funds to redo U. S. plaza
QUEENSTON, Ont. — Funds to renovate the American side of the fourth-busiest commercial land crossing on the U. S.-Canadian border will be sought in the federal budget for the fiscal year that will begin Oct. 1, 2010, the head of the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission said Thursday during a visit by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Chairwoman Norma Higgs said the commission is looking for federal funding to help with the “complete restoration” of the U. S. plaza at the Lewiston- Queenston Bridge once work on the Canadian side is completed.
The toll and customs inspection plaza on the Canadian side of the bridge is in the second phase of a project designed to ease traffic flow.
Harper came to the Queenston toll plaza Thursday morning to tour the recently upgraded border crossing facilities, which will benefit from as much as $62 million (Canadian) in funding promised by the Canadian government last year.
“In these difficult times of global economic recession, the free and efficient flow of goods and people between our two trade-dependent countries is more important than ever,” Harper told a crowd in one of the Canadian plaza’s newest buildings.
Higgs, of Niagara Falls, N. Y., said she already has met with Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-Fairport, about funding for the renovations of the American plaza and plans to meet with Sens. Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten E. Gillibrand.
The second phase of work on the Queenston side consists of additional inspection lanes for passenger vehicles and buses, commercial toll booths, commercial warehouse inspection facilities, passenger and bus inspection areas, an animal inspection facility and a new building for the Canada Border Services Agency and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
The second-phase work will cost $76.5 million (Canadian), with the bridge commission contributing $14.5 million.
Work was completed in December on the $40 million (Canadian) first phase, which included a new parking ramp, toll complex, primary customs processing facility and a maintenance storage facility.
The project created a five-booth processing center, an upgrade from the previous three booths that had handled traffic for 47 years.
The Niagara Falls Bridge Commission operates the Lewiston- Queenston, Rainbow and Whirlpool bridges.
About 12 million vehicles use the commission’s three bridges every year.
Canadian Attorney General and Minister of Justice Rob Nicholson accompanied Harper on his visit to the region, which included a stop at the construction site of the Niagara Convention and Civic Centre in Niagara Falls, Ont.
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