So, what's the scoop on our bridge plaza?

Wondering when the new customs building on the Canadian side of the International Bridge will be ready?

According to Sault Ste. Marie MP Brian Hayes, Canada Customs should be moved into their new digs sometime in 2016.

That was one of the concerns brought up at City Hall on Tuesday night in consultation put on by Hayes.

Representatives from the Canada Border Services Agency, the US Department of Homeland Security and the International Bridge Authority were on hand to answer questions from the citizens in attendance.

Funding for the new building was announced in 2009, Hayes told the gathering that it was “possible” to lose the $44 million funding, but he added that he didn’t expect it to be an issue.

The new plaza slated to be built locally would have seven lanes available for traffic flowing into Ontario with the intention of all of them being in use at peak times of the day.

The current plaza does have some inefficiencies that have led to the inability to use one of the current lane, but Hayes said “rather than put a bunch of money into renovations, we’re going to have a new Canadian customs plaza.”

There are some staffing concerns as it stands now but Hayes told the gathering it was planned to have all booths in service with staff in place.

Many of the current concerns from citizens were regarding the lack of booths open as travellers return to the Canadian side of the bridge and why the U.S. Customs plaza could have all five booths open while open booths on the Canadian side were limited upon return.

All those in attendance agreed that staffing on the Canadian side plays a role in the lack of open booths.

Sandy Lucio, president of the Customs and Immigration union in Sault Ste. Marie, was in attendance at the consultation, and will be meeting with Hayes to discuss staffing issues, likely in early October when Hayes returns from Ottawa.

Much of the delay in the new plaza moving along has been due to property acquisitions taking longer than hoped or expected.

Hayes did say that the hope is that the acquisitions will be completed “within the next couple of months.”

Also discussed on Tuesday night was the possibility of adding lanes on the U.S. side of the border.

The hope is to have a dedicated truck lane while also having a dedicated lane for NEXUS card holders.

According to Phil Becker of the International Bridge Administration, a conceptual design is in place to add two more lanes southbound, which would be added to the final 800 feet of the bridge.

The hope is that the two lanes would help ease traffic going south.

The project would cost in the neighbourhood of $10 million and Becker noted that it isn’t something that is not in the cards for the foreseeable future.

Plans are in place to add a booth to the bus lane at U.S. customs, giving southbound travellers six customs lanes.

The consultation also cleared up a misconception for those who travel into the United States for extended periods on vacation.

Anyone traveling into the country from Canada is eligible to stay in the country for up to 180 days.

The 180-day period is consecutive as opposed to cumulative.

For each time a person travels into the country, a new 180-day period begins.

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