Fast truck lane in B.C. gets $2.6. million extension

VANCOUVER, B.C. – A new extension of the Highway 15 NEXUS/FAST truck lane in Surrey will be built to ease congestion and enhance security at the Pacific Highway Border Crossing.

“More than a million commercial vehicles cross the border into the United States each year,” said David L. Emerson, Minister of Industry and co-Senior Minister Responsible for British Columbia.

"Extending the NEXUS/FAST truck lane will help ease congestion and encourage more commercial vehicles to enrol in the program.”

The construction of this $2.6-million project is expected to begin in the summer of 2005 and be completed the following spring. The Government of Canada will contribute $1.05 million while the Government of British Columbia will contribute $1.55 million to the project.

“This extension will benefit both the trucking industry, by reducing delays and queues for commercial vehicles, and the surrounding community, by reducing air pollution and noise levels,” said Minister Lapierre.

The highway extension includes construction of a third southbound lane on Highway 15.

The Pacific Highway crossing is the fourth busiest commercial vehicle crossing along the Canada/United States border. It handles 75 per cent of commercial traffic in the Lower Mainland.