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

Calais, ME-St. Stephen,NB
Border Crossing Project
A Case Study
Agenda
 Introduction
 Planning,
coordination, and permitting
 Considerations during Design
 Considerations during Construction
 Lessons learned
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)

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
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
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




Four Alternatives
including no
action
considered
Alternatives 2A
and 3 deemed
viable
Chosen:
Alternative 3
Calais Industrial
Park
Timeline
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
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

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
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
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



Find ways to maintain national focus for
future funding purposes
 TBWG, BSPC, etc.
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
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
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

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.

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
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
Considerations During
Construction - Taxes
U.S
Canada
Customs 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
border
14% HST
Income Tax
Withholding
Non-resident
withholding
NB responsible for 15%
non-residents
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

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
Calais, ME-St. Stephen,NB
Border Crossing Project