Funds secured by Murray & Cantwell to help replace obsolete system with new high-tech sensors in Whatcom County
New system will let drivers anticipate more accurate wait times when crossing the border
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) announced that the Whatcom Council of Governments will receive a $458,000 grant for the first phase of a binational project to replace the antiquated wait time communications system at the U.S.-Canada border. The grant was awarded by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) discretionary grant program.
The SMART program was established under the Biden-Harris Infrastructure Law (BIL) to fund deployment of advanced smart community technologies and systems in order to improve transportation efficiency and safety.
“There are countless communities and small businesses across Whatcom County that rely on the ability to efficiently move across the U.S.-Canada border. The current wait time communication system makes it incredibly burdensome on drivers to get across the border and to plan their trips,” said Senator Murray. “This new SMART grant program, which I helped to secure in the Biden-Harris Infrastructure Law, is going to replace this outdated system with one that will improve efficiency, safety, and get people and goods to where they need to be.”
“Each year, more than 4.7 million personal vehicles and 500,000 freight trucks rely on the ports-of-entry in Whatcom County in order to cross the U.S.-Canada border – but the current 20-year-old public wait time communication system is obsolete, making it difficult to predict how long that crossing will take,” said Senator Cantwell. “This federal grant will help replace that system with real-time, sensor-based technology that keeps drivers in the loop and allows them to choose their optimal border crossing times.”
The Whatcom Council of Governments is working with the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and the BC Ministry of Transportation & Infrastructure (BCMOTI) to replace the public wait time communication system at all four Whatcom County/Lower Mainland BC land ports-of-entry: Peace Arch, Pacific Highway, Lynden, and Sumas.
The current system uses 20-year-old technology and isn’t fully accurate. It often miscounts vehicles, and the fixed cameras can’t be moved when border authorities change how lanes are used.
The new system will use the latest sensor-based technology to report real-time wait times at all four crossings, in both directions, for commercial and personal vehicles. Drivers will be able to use this information to anticipate wait times and schedule their optimal crossing window.
The grant funds the planning phase, when WSDOT and BCMOTI will work together to determine the best technology solution. The agencies hope to launch the new system in 2025.
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