NIAGARA FALLS, Ont. — Work has been finished on a new central plaza building that will house Canada Border Services Agency and Canadian Food Inspection Agency functions at the Queenston-Lewiston International Bridge, expediting the flow of traffic and goods through the border, officials have announced.

“Completion of the Queenston central plaza building on the northernmost of our three bridges will provide even more rapid border crossings for our cars, trucks and buses moving into Canada,” saidKen Loucks, chair of the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission, during a special ceremony this week.

Construction of the new plaza was part of the second phase of improvements at the crossing. Other improvements include the addition of a bus-only processing lane and new passenger vehicle primary inspection booths. Phase one included the construction of a new primary commercial Customs processing facility.

“The Government of Canada is proud to have invested in the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge, one of the busiest Canada-U.S. border crossings,” said MP Rob Nicholson. “Investments in the Queenston Plaza will help to reduce traffic congestion, facilitate local border crossings and improve this important trade link in the Niagara region.”