TOWN OF ORLEANS, New York (WWNY) – After 5 years of work, it was time to officially cut the ribbon Tuesday on the new $215 million Alexandria Bay Port of Entry.
Thousands can cross there on any given summer day. The new port has 15 lanes for cars and trucks and can accommodate up to 150 employees.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Field Operations Director Rose Brophy remembers 20 people worked there and is excited to come back to see how the region has grown.
“There’s a personal aspect to this story. I worked in this facility back in 2005 and to see where we were then to where we are now, and to have people come into the United States and be welcomed in this beautiful region with this beautiful facility, it just makes it worthwhile. It truly does,” she said.
In 2019, more than 600,000 vehicles would go through this port alone. Today on an average basis, more than 438,000 vehicles go through the port.
That means there are fewer vehicles moving through the port of entry in a year when compared to pre-pandemic levels. But border officials are confident the numbers will come back now that the U.S. – Canada border is open again after getting shut down for most people for more than a year due to Covid.
The project also made improvements for commerce. The U.S. government says this crossing is the 6th busiest for U.S.-bound commercial vehicles.
The project expanded the space for commercial inspections from 3,000 square feet to more than 10,000 square feet.
“This is monumental in terms of facilitating commerce across the borders and the partnership with Canada has been really outstanding as well as all the other stakeholders involved. The local level, state level, department of transportation and really making this state of the art facility,” said General Services Administration Deputy Commissioner Allison Azevedo.
With $215 million worth of improvements, the plan is to make getting into the U.S. through the Thousand Islands more efficient for people and goods.
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