Officials celebrate new border crossing

CALAIS, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- Last week, the new border crossing opened at the port of entry between Calais and St. Stephen, New Brunswick.  This week officials are celebrating its opening.

There are already two other land ports of entry in the town.  Construction on the new crossing started four years ago.  Senator Susan Collins says it cost $77 million for the facility and the bridge over the Saint Croix River.

As the sixth busiest port of entry on the northern border, officials say the new crossing was important.

"There was clearly a need for an additional crossing," said Thomas Winkowski, Assistant Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection.  "Clearly when you look at Mill Town and you look at Ferry Point, those facilities were built in the mid-1900s, don't meet our needs any longer, and it was time to get a state of the art facility here as quickly as possible."

The plan right now is to keep the other two border crossings in Calais open, and direct truck traffic to the new border crossing.