Calais, ME-St. Calais, ME-St. Stephen,NB Stephen,NB

Border Crossing Project Border Crossing Project A Case Study A Case Study

IntroductionPlanning, coordination, and

permittingConsiderations during DesignConsiderations during ConstructionLessons learned

AgendaAgenda

New crossing discussed for about 30 years 8th busiest commercial crossing along the

U.S. / Canadian border Annual traffic – 2.9 million vehicles 7,500 AADT including 550 heavy trucks Delays inbound to the U.S. can be up to

2 hours Truck traffic entering Maine has doubled since

NAFTA implementation (70,000 to 140,000 annually)

IntroductionIntroduction

Maine and New Brunswick DOTs share the costs of bridge design/construction on a 50/50 basis

MaineDOT: Bridge design lead MaineDOT: Project Manager for

the bridge construction portion

Project ManagementProject Management

FHWA – lead federal agencyMaineDOTGSA – cooperating agencyU.S. Department of Homeland

Security Customs and Border Protection U.S. Border Patrol

U.S. Department of State

Agencies — U.S.Agencies — U.S.

New Brunswick Department of Transportation

Transport Canada Canada Border Services Agency Canada Revenue Agency Citizenship & Immigration Canada Foreign Affairs Canada Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Agencies — CanadaAgencies — Canada

Four Alternatives including no action considered

Alternatives 2A and 3 deemed viable

Chosen: Alternative 3 Calais Industrial Park

Preliminary design and NEPA compliance – started 1999

FHWA issued FONSI in July 2002 Final design and permitting

July 2002 – September 2006 Construction Begins

NBDOT - Spring 2006 MaineDOT – Spring 2007 GSA and CBSA - 2007

Open to traffic - Fall 2008

TimelineTimeline

This Last Year…This Last Year… January 2006 – Reevaluation of 2001

Environmental Assessment May 2006 – Army Corps of Engineers

request for details June 2006 – Maine DOT replies June 2006 - US Coast Guard Approval Sept 2006 – Army Corps of Engineers

approval Project tendered September 27, 2006

Maine and New Brunswick circulated studies at same time Changes in process

(New Brunswick was very flexible) Public Involvement

9 PAC meetings, 2 public meetings, and 1 formal public hearing

MaineDOT – GSA enter into a cost reimbursement agreement for NEPA

PlanningPlanning

Partnership, respect for others’ process, flexibility

International Stakeholders workshops Every 6 months to 1 year throughout the

process International partnering agreement Master schedule discussed and developed Good forum for troubleshooting problems

like labor issues Communication between workshops

Find ways to maintain national focus for future funding purposes TBWG, BSPC, etc.

International CoordinationInternational Coordination

Required for an international bridge Cooperating agency under NEPA Bridge permit

40% plans required Approved Presidential Permit is also

required Long lead time is necessary

Permitting — Coast Guard Permitting — Coast Guard Bridge PermitBridge Permit

U.S. Department of State 2003-2005 No precedent for the northern border

First one in at least 30 years Guidelines for complete application

State Dept. distributes application to at least 55 agencies for comment and determinations

Prepared and circulated own EA and FONSI as part of their process as well

Permitting – Presidential Permitting – Presidential PermitPermit

Transport Canada – New Brunswick agreement This project spurred a new Canadian

equivalent of the U.S. Presidential Permit process

International Boundary Commission approval

International Joint Commission or exchange of diplomatic notes required between Foreign Affairs Canada and U.S. State Department

MaineDOT - New Brunswick agreement to construct and reimburse

Treaties and ApprovalsTreaties and Approvals

Inspection facility – increased in size from 20 to 50 acres. (Post 911)

MaineDOT – GSA cost reimbursement agreements

Advance notice for materials and people crossing the border

Buy America clause for steel MaineDOT – NBDOT funding and management

agreement Bridge contractor ‘fact sheet’ and

prequalification Coordination between GSA and MaineDOT of

design issues; staging issues, exchange of plans, etc.

Design Considerations — Design Considerations — U.S. U.S.

Labor and requirements for foreign workers

Human Resources Development Canada-Canadian Labor Market Opinion

CBSA – immigrationMaine Dept of LaborSecurity and background check Ideal worker – dual citizenship, no

criminal record

Considerations During Considerations During Construction - LaborConstruction - Labor

Security during construction U.S. Border Patrol RCMP

Movement of workers; must be able to cross border within project limits No precedent on this issue

Considerations During Construction - Considerations During Construction - SecuritySecurity

Considerations During Considerations During Construction - TaxesConstruction - Taxes

U.S CanadaCustoms Duties EXEMPT

All international bridge projects are exempt

Exempt – but imports need NAFTA certificate of origin

Sales Tax EXEMPT None

Value Added Tax (GST/HST)

None 6% GST collected at border14% HST

Income Tax Withholding

Non-resident withholding

NB responsible for 15% non-residents

Partnerships among agencies on both sides of the border that are built to last

Respect for others and stay flexible Communicate and communicate some

more Combine NEPA/Presidential Permit

Process as much as possible Maximize the use of the cooperating

agencies Taxation issues for international bridge

projects are complex

Lessons LearnedLessons Learned

Project StatusProject StatusInternational Bridge Construction (11.58 Million) March 2007 – Summer 2008U.S. Inspection Facility Summer 2007 – Fall 2008US Route 1 (9.33 Million): April 2007 – Summer 2008NB Route 1: Spring 2007Canadian Inspection Facility Summer 2007 – Fall 2008

Calais, ME-St. Calais, ME-St. Stephen,NB Stephen,NB

Border Crossing Project Border Crossing Project