Homeland Security is adding more customs and border patrol officers to Western New York border crossings. Congressman Brian Higgins says the additional staffing will ease the massive delays at peak times for travelers crossing the region's bridges to and from Canada.
“Additional border staffing combined with plaza reconstruction to open up the bottleneck as vehicles approach the booths and full implementation of the pre-inspection pilot project that pre-screens trucks on the Canadian side of the border will provide a coordinated approach to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion at our borders,” Higgins said.
"Custom and Border Protection’s official confirmation that scores of new agents will be deployed to the Peace Bridge is great news for Buffalo and the entire region of Western New York," said US Senator Charles Schumer. "The lane closures and excessive delays at the Peace Bridge were directly related to staffing issues, so today’s announcement strikes right at the heart of the problem, and will get things moving in the right direction again."
Federal officials did not provide a specific number of new officers who will be assigned locally. But the Buffalo News cited a source who said it will be as many as 100.