N.B., Maine study new border crossing
Last Updated: Thursday, August 13, 2009 | 11:27 AM AT
CBC News
A third commercial border crossing between northwest New Brunswick and Maine is under study.
The two existing crossings — between St. Leonard, N.B. and Van Buren, Me., and between Edmundston, N.B., and Madawaska, Me. — are being upgraded. But officials in Maine want to know whether that will be enough to handle commercial traffic over the next 20 years.
Nate Howard, of Maine's Transportation Department, said Wednesday that work is underway to determine whether a third crossing is required.
"We’re going to look at how the planned improvements at Madawaska and Van Buren — those two existing sites —will affect the flow of commercial traffic between Maine and New Brunswick," Howard said.
"And then we’ll look at whether sufficient need exists for a new commercial border crossing. So, to do that, we have to look at the capacity issues at the existing borders."
A public information meeting is being held Thursday night at the high school in Madawaska, Me., as part of that process, Howard said. It is co-hosted by the New Brunswick Transportation Department.
"We’re hoping that residents from municipalities on both sides of the border will be there. We’d also really like local officials from the area, and particularly businesses," he said.
"We sent out letters to carriers in the region that use it. So, we’d also like to hear from people who not only live near the crossings, but those who use the crossings on a daily basis, just to get their input."
There will be more meetings on both sides of the border, Howard said, before a final report and recommendation on a third commercial crossing is ready by the end of the year.
