Calais, MESt' Stephen,NB Border Crossing Project A Case Study

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Calais, ME-St. Stephen,NB Border Crossing
Project A Case Study
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Agenda

• Introduction
• Planning, coordination, and permitting
• Considerations during Design
• Considerations during Construction
• Lessons learned

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Introduction

• 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)

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Project Management

• 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

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Agencies U.S.

• FHWA lead federal agency
• MaineDOT
• GSA cooperating agency
• U.S. Department of Homeland Security
• Customs and Border Protection
• U.S. Border Patrol
• U.S. Department of State

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Agencies Canada

• New Brunswick Department of Transportation
• Transport Canada
• Canada Border Services Agency
• Canada Revenue Agency
• Citizenship Immigration Canada
• Foreign Affairs Canada
• Royal Canadian Mounted Police

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• Four Alternatives including no action considered
• Alternatives 2A and 3 deemed viable
• Chosen Alternative 3 Calais Industrial Park

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Timeline

• Preliminary design and NEPA compliance started
  1999
• FHWA issued FONSI in July 2002
• Final design and permittingJuly 2002 September
  2006
• Construction Begins
• NBDOT - Spring 2006
• MaineDOT Spring 2007
• GSA and CBSA - 2007
• Open to traffic - Fall 2008

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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

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Planning

• 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

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International Coordination

• 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.

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Permitting Coast Guard Bridge Permit

• 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

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Permitting Presidential 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

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Treaties and Approvals

• 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

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Design Considerations U.S.

• 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.

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Considerations During Construction - Labor

• Labor and requirements for foreign workers
• Human Resources Development Canada-Canadian Labor
  Market Opinion
• CBSA immigration
• Maine Dept of Labor
• Security and background check
• Ideal worker dual citizenship, no criminal
  record

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Considerations During Construction - Security

• 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

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Considerations During Construction - Taxes
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Lessons Learned

• 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

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Project Status

• International Bridge Construction (11.58 Million)
• March 2007 Summer 2008
• U.S. Inspection Facility
• Summer 2007 Fall 2008
• US Route 1 (9.33 Million)
• April 2007 Summer 2008
• NB Route 1
• Spring 2007
• Canadian Inspection Facility
• Summer 2007 Fall 2008

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Calais, ME-St. Stephen,NB Border Crossing
Project