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

 Introduction  Planning, coordination, and permitting  Considerations during Design  Considerations during Construction  Lessons learned Agenda

 New crossing discussed for about 30 years  8 th 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) Introduction

 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 Project Management

 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 — U.S.

 New Brunswick Department of Transportation  Transport Canada  Canada Border Services Agency  Canada Revenue Agency  Citizenship & Immigration Canada  Foreign Affairs Canada  Royal Canadian Mounted Police Agencies — Canada

 Four Alternatives including no action considered  Alternatives 2A and 3 deemed viable  Chosen: Alternative 3 Calais Industrial Park

 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  Open to traffic - Fall 2008 Timeline

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 US Coast Guard Approval  Sept 2006 – Army Corps of Engineers approval  Project tendered September 27, 2006

 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 Planning

 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  Find ways to maintain national focus for future funding purposes  TBWG, BSPC, etc. International Coordination

 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 — Coast Guard Bridge Permit

 U.S. Department of State  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 Permitting – Presidential Permit

 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 Treaties and Approvals

 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. Design Considerations — U.S.

 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 criminal record Considerations During Construction - Labor

 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 - Security

Considerations During Construction - Taxes U.SCanada Customs DutiesEXEMPT All international bridge projects are exempt Exempt – but imports need NAFTA certificate of origin Sales TaxEXEMPTNone Value Added Tax (GST/HST) None6% GST collected at border 14% HST Income Tax Withholding Non-resident withholding NB responsible for 15% non-residents

 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 Lessons Learned

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 Calais, ME-St. Stephen,NB Border Crossing Project