ST. STEPHEN, N.B. — Traffic backups are nothing new to the residents of New Brunswick border town, St. Stephen, but the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks are exacerbating an already bad situation.

There are renewed calls for an international bridge crossing outside the town, to help rid the town of an influx of truck traffic and vacationers who have been clogging the municipalities streets.

While truck traffic used to peak at certain times in the town, it is now unpredictable and constant due to the increased border security, according to residents.

"Our traffic problem may be with us more long term," says Mayor Bob Brown. "We used to have it seasonally or on long weekends or Sunday nights. I think it will become more permanent."

One of the options being considered was the possibility of turning two-lane Milltown Blvd. Into a three or four-lane road, better able to accommodate the traffic. But that idea quickly died when businesses realized they’d be losing the parking spaces in front of their shops.

"The only real solution is the third bridge," says Brown. He pitched the idea to Premier Bernard Lord recently, but he realizes that it would take between five and seven years for such a bridge to be built.