The Niagara Falls Bridge Commission (NFBC) has broken ground for a $90 million modernization project at the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge’s U.S. Customs Plaza.
“This plaza modernization will make crossing the border easier and more efficient for hundreds of thousands of people who want to come here and contribute to the Western New York economy. I’ve been proud to work on this project from the very beginning, pushing GSA and CBP to approve this project. 290 folks will work on this stage of the project,” U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer said in a statement.
The Lewiston-Queenston Land Port of Entry (LPOE) located in Lewiston is the fourth-busiest commercial land crossing between the United States and Canada.
The groundbreaking at the span’s U.S. Customs Plaza marks a significant milestone in Phase II of the ongoing expansion and renovation of the LPOE, with Phase I completed in 2016 at a cost of $21 million.
The $90+ million in construction planned for Phase II will be completed through a staged approach, in order to ensure that the current number of primary inspection lanes (PILS) (10) remain open throughout the duration of the project and therefore help mitigate delays during the various stages, according to the NFBC.
The Lewiston-Queenston Bridge U.S. Plaza expansion details:
- New secondary processing and primary lane support facilities
- New secondary processing canopy
- Replacement of the ten (10) existing primary lanes for both automobiles and trucks
- Five (additional new lanes that can be used to process auto/truck traffic based on demand
- Dedicated bus processing lane
- Dedicated bus passenger processing area
Constructed in 1962, the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge is 370 feet above the Niagara River and connects U.S. Interstate 190 with Canadian Highway 405. The bridge, with a length of 1,600 feet, its five reversible lanes support more than 2.6 million passenger vehicles and over approximately 800,000 commercial trucks annually.
