Official Opening of the Peace Bridge Plaza

July 16, 2007

FORT ERIE, ONTARIO — Canada’s New Government and the Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority today officially opened the new Canada Border Services Agency Peace Bridge Travellers Operations Building, the Peace Bridge Refugee Processing Unit and the Peace Bridge Newcomers Centre. It was also an opportunity to celebrate the completion of the redevelopment of the Peace Bridge plaza, which will help reduce border congestion and expand infrastructure capacity.

The announcement was made by the Honourable Rob Nicholson, M.P. (Niagara Falls) and Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada; and Mr. Anthony Annunziata, chairman of the Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority, on the Canadian plaza of the Peace Bridge.

“The Peace Bridge is a vital link for trade and is one of the great gateways to this nation,” said Minister Nicholson. “The redevelopment of the Peace Bridge plaza is an important step towards ensuring that this border crossing remains open, effective, efficient and secure.”

“Canada’s New Government is committed to enhancing the safety and security of Canada’s border crossings, as well as investing in infrastructure improvements that help increase efficiency and reduce congestion,” said the Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities.

The redevelopment includes improvements to both the Canadian and American plazas. The completed projects include:

• construction of the new Peace Bridge Travellers Operations Building to house the Canada Border Services Agency;
• construction of a new shared facility for the Peace Bridge Refugee Processing Unit and the Peace Bridge Newcomers Centre;
• construction of the Peace Bridge Authority Administration Building to house administration functions;
• relocation of the toll band from the American plaza to the Canadian plaza;
• relocation and increase in the number of primary inspection lanes on the Canadian plaza;
• construction of an elevated employee walkway;
• site work required by the plaza reconfiguration;
• improvements to general security on the plazas;
• construction of three additional primary truck inspection booths on the American plaza; and
• construction of a truck staging area on the Canadian plaza.

“The Peace Bridge Authority is pleased that we were able to partner with the Canadian government in completing a critically important project enhancing the functionality and efficiency of this international bridge,” said Mr. Annunziata. “The travelling public and the business community will be well served by these improvements.”

The Peace Bridge improvement projects are valued at $50 million and were cost-shared by the Government of Canada and the Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority. The federal funding of up to $21 million came from the Border Infrastructure Fund, which provides funding for infrastructure enhancement projects that improve the capacity, efficiency and security at Canada’s key border crossings. The fund also supports the Canada – U.S. Smart Border Declaration Action Plan.

The Peace Bridge is Canada’s second busiest border crossing, handling 5.5 million cars and 1.3 million trucks in 2006.

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For more information on the Border Infrastructure Fund, please visit:
http://www.tc.gc.ca/pol/en/tbwg/311.htm

Click here to view photos from this event.