Truck drivers traveling back and forth from the U.S. to Canada may soon be able to pass through more quickly. A new pilot program will soon be underway to help ease traffic congestion on the Peace Bridge.
According to Buffalo News, the Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority, or Peace Bridge Authority, will soon be implementing a pilot project that would allow American personnel to inspect trucks that are U.S. bound in Fort Erie, which they believe would speed up the process and ease traffic congestion on the bridge.
“With the inspecting and processing of trucks done on the Canadian side of the border, but with enforcement done in the United States, the project should free up more space passenger cars on the plaza,” Buffalo News reported.
The pilot project is the brain-child of U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., who worked with the Department of Homeland Security, and Canada’s equivalents of the agency, to develop a program to speed up the inspection process.
The program will first be tested in Blaine, Washington, before making its way to Fort Erie. The program will run for 6 months in Washington. Once the program is complete there, necessary modifications will be made before implementing the pilot program in Fort Erie.
“Under the pilot project, the truck drivers would be questioned by U.S. officials in Fort Erie, but the drivers would cross the Peace Bridge before being told if they were cleared,” Buffalo News reported.
Inspectors would then see a “go” or “no go” message, which would alert them that the driver needed further inspection.
Read more about the pilot program and how it will be executed at Buffalo News.