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Mar 1, 2006 12:00 PM

A $45 million expansion of the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge linking southern Ontario and western New York has created one of the most efficient commercial crossings between Canada and the United States.

The Queenston-Lewiston Bridge Fifth Lane Project created a reversible fifth lane for commercial carriers enrolled in the FAST (Free and Secure Trade Initiative) program, a bilateral initiative between the two nations that pre-approves low-risk loads and drivers. FAST trucks will bypass queues and experience expedited clearance. Additionally, dynamic message signs serve to segregate trucks from cars on the bridge so they are not blocked by car traffic.

For trucks traveling to the United States, new lanes on Canadian Highway 405 approaching the bridge have opened, which will speed clearance and eliminate wait times. When FAST lanes become operational in spring 2006, the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge is the only Canada-US crossing with a dedicated FAST lane on a highway approach.

The Queenston-Lewiston Bridge is the fourth-busiest commercial crossing between the United States and Canada, with more than one million truck crossings each year. More than $28 billion in goods are carried across the bridge annually.