TBWG Plenary Meeting
“The Peace Bridge Experience”
Presentation By:
Ron Rienas, General Manager
October 24, 2006
The Buffalo and Fort
Erie Public Bridge Authority
Bi-National Compact Entity
The Authority is governed by a ten-member Board
5 U.S. Board Members: Two are appointed by the
Governor of the State and three shall be the chairman
of the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, the
Commissioner of Transportation and the Attorney
General.
5 Canadian Board Members appointed by the
Governor in Council (Government of Canada)
Peace Bridge - Facts
5,800 feet long with three lanes (center reversible
lane allowing two-lane operations in one direction
during peak traffic hours)
59 spans (Longest Span - 420’ Arch)
9000 tons of structural steel
2nd busiest U.S./Canadian Crossing
Approximately 4,500 trucks and 20,000 cars per
day
National Register eligible historic structure in NYS
and heritage structure in Canada
Backups on QEW and Peace
Bridge due to U.S. plaza
processing delays
Toll Relocation & New
PBA Administration Building
Increased Commercial
Processing Capacity
Additional Nexus Lane
CBSA Building
Peace Bridge (U.S. Bound)
Distribution of Border Crossing Tim es
March 1 - August 31, 2006
800
D ist r ib ut io n
# of Crossings = 7001
5045 (72.1%) < 15.1minutes
100 (0.9%) > 100 minutes
572 (8.2%) < 3 minutes
STDEV 12 minutes
M edian Crossing Time
7.6 minutes
700
Frequency
600
500
400
300
M ean Crossing Time
15.1 minutes
200
100
0
2
8 14 20 26 32 38 44 50 56 62 68 74 80 86 92 99 106116 127144 158186 214275
Minutes
Peace Bridge # of Crossings by TOD
March 1 - August 31, 2006
Canada Bound
700
U.S. Bound
600
Frequency
500
400
300
200
100
0
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
Tim e of Day (Hour)
Peace Bridge (U.S. Bound) - March 1 - August 31, 2006
140
# of Crossings
60
Mean Crossing Time
120
50
100
80
30
60
20
40
10
20
0
Sunday6 12 18Monday6 12 18
Tuesday6 12 Wednesday
18
6 12 18
Thursday
6 12 18Friday 6 12 18
Saturday6 12 18
Day/Hour
0
Minutes
Frequency
40
Peace Bridge (Canada Bound) - March 1 - August 31, 2006
# of Crossings
160
80
140
70
120
60
100
50
80
40
60
30
40
20
20
10
0
Sunday 6
0
12
18Monday 6
12
18Tuesday 6
12
18
Wednesday
6
12
18Thursday6
Day/Hour
12
18 Friday 6
12
18Saturday6
12
18
Minutes
Frequency
Mean Crossing Time
Project Scoping
Organization of Project Location Alternatives (59 Total)
Scoping Process: Alternatives Grouped by River Crossing Location
At Existing Crossing Location (31)

Initial (9)

South/Adjacent to Existing Bridge (10)

At Existing Bridge (3)

North/Adjacent to Existing Bridge (9)
At Other Crossing Locations (28)

Lake Ice Boom (2)

International RR Bridge (13)

Tonawanda (7)

Grand Island (3)

Niagara Falls (3)
Shared Border Management
• December 2004: Announcement made by Canadian
Deputy Prime Minister Anne McClellan and then U.S.
Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge to implement a
Shared Border Management (SBM) pilot at the Peace
Bridge.
• Required the addition of SBM to the Draft
Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental
Screening Report (DEIS/ESR) as an Alternative.
What is Shared Border
Management?
– At the Peace Bridge:
• Moving all U.S. inspection activities to the
Canadian side of the Bridge.
• The U.S. side would include only new
connections from the bridge to the transportation
network and duty free facilities.
Shared Border Management
Timeline Impediments
• DHS has made changes to design guides and
anticipates more
• Reorganization at DHS
• SBM requires treaty level agreements
between US and Canada
• Labor and enforcement issues for US officers
in Canada
….No quick resolution
Alternative 1
Alternative 3 - SBM 16A
Alternative 3 - SBM 13G
Alternative 3 - SBM 23B
Jury Recommended Concept
•
Two needle shaped towers that
straddle the roadway, supporting a
main span of 500 meters (1,600 feet).
•
One tower is located on the western
shore and the other is located on the
west side of the Black Rock Canal;
both have a height of approximately
173 meters (567 feet).
•
To be carried forward in the
DEIS as a preferred bridge
option
BNIEP Process Overview
Need SBM Decision prior to FEIS to
maintain Project Schedule
Legend
Decision Milestones
Final Scoping
Document Ratified
Partnering Group (Town of Fort
Erie, City of Buffalo, PBA)
PBA Board
Need Ratification of Addendum
#2 to include SBM
Start
Bi-National
Integrated
Environmental
Process
Project
Description
Scoping
Process
Conceptual
Design
Draft
Project
Description
Oct. ‘01
CEAA Process
We Are
Here
Scoping
Process
Scoping Input
NEPA Process
Preliminary
Design &
Detailed
Assessment of
Reasonable
Alternative(s) Draft EIS
Development - Draft ESR
Development
Feb ‘04
Public Involvement
Public
Hearing
Record of
Decision
Prepare
Final EIS
Publish
Draft EIS
Screening
Conclusions
Publish
ESR w/
Preferred
Alternative
Early ‘07
Approval
Winter ‘07
Proceed to
Final
Design &
Permitting
Proceed to
Final
Design &
Permitting
Infrastructure vs. Operation
• Infrastructure alone will not solve border issues.
• Customs operations and procedures need to be
improved.
• Booth staffing needs to be improved.
• Canadian labour actions and use of inane
health and safety concerns must stop.
• A culture of customer service needs to be
instilled.
• Passport uncertainty (WHTI).
Questions