The US Department of Transportation (DOT) has signed agreements with the States of Washington and California to undertake actions aimed at defusing frustration for people and freight movements at the borders.
At the US-Canada border, the Cascade Gateway Project will use a number of newer technologies to provide travel condition information and border-crossing wait time to travelers and trucks using the Washington Peace Arch, Pacific Highway, Lynden and Sumas ports of entry. Among the technologies to be employed are sensors that will provide pre-trip and en-route wait times at the ports.
The US Department of Transportation (DOT) has signed agreements with the States of Washington and California to undertake actions aimed at defusing frustration for people and freight movements at the borders.
At the US-Canada border, the Cascade Gateway Project will use a number of newer technologies to provide travel condition information and border-crossing wait time to travelers and trucks using the Washington Peace Arch, Pacific Highway, Lynden and Sumas ports of entry. Among the technologies to be employed are sensors that will provide pre-trip and en-route wait times at the ports.
Senator Patty Murray (Dem), Chairman of the Senate Transportation Appropriations Committee, claims, “With our economy faltering, it’s critical that goods and products are moving efficiently through our Northern Border crossings. This agreement takes innovative steps that will allow freight carriers and drivers to make informed decisions that will reduce congestion along the Northern Border.”
At the Southern Border, a project in the San Diego, CA, area is aimed at reducing congestion and wait times that can run to four hours for commercial truckers coming into Southern California.
The project is a new port of entry, Otay Mesa East, to be located two miles to the east of the existing Otay Mesa entry point. Part of the project is creation of a 2.7-mile four-lane highway, State Route 11 that will link the new port to California’s highway system. State Route 11 will also provide a seamless connection to the Tijuana Rosarito Corridor and the Tijuana-Tecate and Tijuana-Ensenada toll roads in Mexico’s Baja California.
In announcing each of these projects, DOT Secretary Mary Peters said that as part of the congestion relief program, they would receive priority access, consistent with current law, to many of the Department’s assistance programs, including loans and other innovative financing mechanisms.
