Plans are underway to modernize and expand the Sumas-Huntingdon (Abbotsford) border crossing on the U.S. side, including more inspection lanes.
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) recently awarded a contract for a project development study to Jacobs Engineering Group Inc.
The $1.35 million study will assist the GSA in developing a schedule and plan for the project, as well as for the expansion of the Kenneth G. Ward (Lynden-Aldergove) border crossing.
“The Sumas port does not have enough space for efficient traffic flow or safe and secure inspection areas, which impede the port’s operations and cause traffic and safety concerns in the surrounding urban area,” states a GSA press release.
The GSA website states that the project will expand commercial inspection lanes from two to four and personal vehicle lanes from five to six.
“Main building operations will be fully modernized and a dedicated pedestrian corridor will be constructed,” the website states.
The Sumas port of entry has not been updated since it was constructed in 1998, according to the website.
Plans for the Lynden crossing include opening it 24 hours daily – it currently operates 16 hours a day – and constructing five private vehicle lanes and four commercial lanes.
The project development study is expected to be complete by December 2024, with construction scheduled to begin in fall 2026 and completion in late 2028.
The press release states that the two projects will be “modern and energy-efficient facilities” that will “improve the travellers’ crossing experience.”
The Canadian side near the Sumas-Huntingdon crossing recently completed a 1.3-kilometre widening of Highway 11 to extend the Nexus land from south of Vye Road to the U.S. border.
That project also included improvements to the Fourth Avenue railway crossing west of Highway 11 and the building of a two-lane overpass on Vye Road over the railway lines between Highway 11 and Riverside Road.
