NIAGARA FALLS, Ont. – According to officials at the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge, a $45 million expansion of bridge facilities linking Southern Ontario and Western New York has created one of the most efficient commercial crossings between Canada and the U.S. The Queenston-Lewiston Bridge is the fourth busiest commercial crossing between the U.S. and Canada, with more than one million truck crossings each year. More than $28 billion in goods are carried across the bridge annually.

The Fifth Lane Project has created a reversible fifth lane for commercial carriers enrolled in the FAST program (Free and Secure Trade Initiative), a bilateral initiative between the U.S. and Canada which pre-approves low risk loads and drivers. FAST trucks will by-pass queues and experience an expedited clearance process. Additionally, dynamic message signs serve to segregate trucks from cars on the bridge so they are not blocked by car traffic, said the bridge authority in a statement. For trucks travelling to the U.S., meanwhile, new lanes on Canadian Highway 405 approaching the bridge have opened, which will speed clearance and eliminate wait times, say officials. When FAST lanes become operational in spring of 2006, the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge is the only Canada-U.S. crossing with a dedicated FAST lane on a highway approach.