Customs facility in Calais on track to open next fall
1/7/09 | 8 comments

Customs facility in Calais on track to open next fall


By Diana Graettinger
BDN Staff
BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTO BY DIANA GRAETTINGER
Officials from both sides of the international border Tuesday toured the new U.S. Customs facility that soon will be part of Calais’ third bridge. The new customs house is expected to open in November. Buy Photo

CALAIS, Maine — Once it is completed in November, the $50 million U.S. Customs House will be a state-of-the-art sight to behold.

Situated on a 54-acre parcel that abuts the St. Croix River, the facility covers nearly 100,000 square feet in buildings, canopies and parking — and offers a striking first impression of what soon will be a “gateway” to America.

The facility is part of the third-bridge project that soon will connect Calais with neighboring St. Stephen, New Brunswick. Two other bridges — the downtown Ferry Point Bridge and the nearby Milltown Bridge — already serve as connectors to Canada. The Calais-St. Stephen port of entry is the eighth-busiest in the nation.

On Tuesday, officials from both sides of the international border, including representatives of Maine’s U.S. congressional delegation, toured the new facility, which is about 70 percent complete.

Their tour guides were officials from the General Services Administration, the agency that oversees the construction project.

Although Dennis R. Smith, GSA regional administrator, has been one of the driving forces behind the project since its inception, his visit Tuesday will be his last. Smith said he is retiring later this month. “As you can see, we’ve made a lot of progress,” Smith said. “Everything is on track.”

Fred Amey, GSA project manager for property development, said that although the building was designed with security as a primary concern, energy and environmental needs also were considered. The project team has submitted a draft report to the U.S. Green Building Council for review.

“The USGBC program is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings,” GSA said in its written progress report to the city.

“I think what we are seeing is that this is state-of-the-art as far as technology goes, as far as security goes and as far as the environment and energy [go],” Smith said. “So all those areas that all had their own special concerns have been brought together to make this building an energy-efficient, environmentally friendly and secure state-of-the art facility.”

City Manager Diane Barnes, who participated in the tour, said she was pleased with the progress. “This is so positive for this area,” she said.

St. Stephen Mayor Jed Purcell, who also toured the facility, said Canadians were ready to go. The project on their side of the border includes a road to the bridge and a new customs facility that is complete.

“We’re ready,” the mayor said with a laugh. “All we have to do is open the bridge.”

But vehicles are not expected to be processed at the new border crossing until November when construction is expected to be completed.

Once the new facility opens, the Department of Homeland Security staff at the Calais crossings is expected to increase from 75 to 100 customs officers.

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Comments
8 comments on this item
On 1/7/09 at 8:49 AM, Mainefriend wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Wonder if they built them an indoor pool and workout center!

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On 1/7/09 at 10:38 AM, annerie wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I worked for 3 years in a Customs Brokerage in Calais. If you live anywhere near Calais then you know how dangerous the traffic is in the summer. It has been a long time coming for Customs to have a better facility. Why degrade it by asking if they have luxuries? The job they do is not one of luxury but one of keeping our borders safe. The teams at Calais do an excellent job at that and we need to be saluting them rather than cutting them down. Enjoy your new facility CHB....you deserve it.

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On 1/7/09 at 1:56 PM, Hampden1 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I hope the Van Buren Facility is next. They have been working out of Contractor Trailers since the old facility was hit by flood waters from the St. John River and age also has taken its toll on the old facility. Good Luck!

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On 1/7/09 at 7:14 PM, ThomasBonner wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I love this part from the story:

St. Stephen Mayor Jed Purcell, who also toured the facility, said Canadians were ready to go. The project on their side of the border includes a road to the bridge and a new customs facility that is complete.

What they failed to mention that the road on their side of he bridge is a 4 lane limited access highway that runs clear into Nova Scotia. On our side of te bridge they have imposed on us a miniature traffic circle that was designed for gokarts. Not something that you would want commercial traffic going around. Then we have over 90 miles to go over state of the art highways (for the 40's) before we reach another limited access highway.

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On 1/7/09 at 10:13 PM, JWBooth wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Interesting that in the Canadian press, the stories indicate that the Canadian government spent less than half what the US spent on the highway, bridge, and customs facilities. One has to wonder whether the difference isn't due to waste, fraud and corruption in the US contracting mechanism -- a smaller version of Boston's Big Dig.

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On 1/8/09 at 1:04 PM, meadowlands wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Of addititional interest to me, at least regarding this improved border crossing, is the seeminly total disregard for Calais, itself, and the Indian Tribes in specific. FIRST NATION tried to open a casino. Denied. Instead people from Canada, who wish to play the casinos and access large shopping malls have to travel 99 miles to Bangor. Why isn't the precise port of entry at Calais being better utilized? AGAIN FIRST NATION and Washington County citizens are cast aside and disregarded in sharing the wealth and prosperity. WE ARE WASHINGTON COUNTY ONE COMMUNIITY being both ignored and taken FROM.

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On 1/12/09 at 8:05 AM, justmyopinion wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Will this bridge help alleviate some of the pain and problems that backed up traffic on both sides, tho most often St.Stephen contend with.? im not so sure.

the money possibly would have been better spent giving customs officers of BOTH sides of the border classes on how to treat people with respect. Not ALL are arrogant, mean spirited men and women but ive sure met more then my fair share of them. At any rate, we will see if this 3rd bridge helps our communities or not, im not typically a downer but somehow i doubt it.

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On 1/24/09 at 9:07 PM, viper13 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

The third bridge is a farce and a waste of tax payers money. The $$$ that went into putting this bridge in a very inconvenient location. What a sham. . . we were taken, folks!

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