U.S. border access reduced

One of the most popular U.S. border crossings for Nelsonites is having its hours reduced.

The Nelway crossing, located 66 kilometres south of Nelson on Highway 6, will lose two hours of access per day, according to a new Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) directive.

Beginning Jan. 6, the CBSA stated the crossing will operate from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., instead of until 8 p.m. as it has for several years.

The move is made from a purely usage basis — and in collaboration with the United States — to “enhance the overall security in both countries” by allowing more officers to be used elsewhere and at busier ports of entry.

“This will support the CBSA’s ability to process travellers and goods as well as to manage enforcement activities,” the CBSA website on the matter stated.

On the American side of the crossing the hours will also be adjusted.

“(T)his alignment will facilitate the return of inadmissible travellers and goods between the two countries, which is more challenging when one side of the border is closed while the other remains open,” the CBSA site read.

Nelway was handling two or fewer vehicles or commercial trucks per hour during the hours being reduced, necessitating adjustments based on an analysis of operational pressures, peak periods and service demands at the port of entry.

The border isn’t entirely closed outside of those operating hours, with people having alternative border crossing options within a 100-kilometre radius.

Also being affected is the Kootenay-Boundary crossing at Cascade, southeast of Grand Forks. The crossing opening will be reduced by four hours each day, to 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., instead of 8 a.m. to 12 a.m.

A total of 35 land ports across Canada will see reduced hours in the new year.

Wbaron Wikimedia Commons