The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) says construction at the Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle port of entry—Quebec’s busiest land gateway to the United States—is on schedule, with the most disruptive phase of booth reconstruction set to finish by 11 December 2025.
To maintain traffic flow, CBSA has opened a dedicated NEXUS lane 10 minutes away at the smaller Lacolle Route 221 crossing. The lane operates 08:00–22:00 daily and will remain in place until winter 2027, when a fully modernised Primary Inspection Line re-opens at the main site.
Why it matters: Lacolle handles more than two million travellers and 300,000 trucks annually. Lane closures had fuelled concern among exporters moving just-in-time shipments between Montreal and New York State. CBSA reports that off-peak construction timing and the diversion of trusted travellers to Route 221 have so far prevented abnormal wait times.
![CBSA adds temporary NEXUS lane as major Lacolle border-crossing rebuild hits key milestone]()
Project scope: • New primary booths with biometric-ready kiosks; • Expanded commercial staging area with radiant-heated pavement to speed snow removal; • Upgrade of radiation-detection portals and license-plate readers; • Sustainability features targeting a 40 % reduction in energy use.
Action points for mobility managers: • Advise employees enrolled in NEXUS who commute via I-87/QC-15 to switch to Route 221 until further notice; • Logistics teams should monitor CBSA’s online wait-time dashboard, especially during U.S. Thanksgiving returns and the December holiday peak; • Plan for brief overnight closures of commercial lanes in early December.
Long-term outlook: Once complete in 2028, the facility will process 30 % more passenger vehicles and introduce an ArriveCAN-style pre-arrival model for commercial drivers—promising smoother cross-border assignments for Quebec-based manufacturers.
To maintain traffic flow, CBSA has opened a dedicated NEXUS lane 10 minutes away at the smaller Lacolle Route 221 crossing. The lane operates 08:00–22:00 daily and will remain in place until winter 2027, when a fully modernised Primary Inspection Line re-opens at the main site.
Why it matters: Lacolle handles more than two million travellers and 300,000 trucks annually. Lane closures had fuelled concern among exporters moving just-in-time shipments between Montreal and New York State. CBSA reports that off-peak construction timing and the diversion of trusted travellers to Route 221 have so far prevented abnormal wait times.
Project scope: • New primary booths with biometric-ready kiosks; • Expanded commercial staging area with radiant-heated pavement to speed snow removal; • Upgrade of radiation-detection portals and license-plate readers; • Sustainability features targeting a 40 % reduction in energy use.
Action points for mobility managers: • Advise employees enrolled in NEXUS who commute via I-87/QC-15 to switch to Route 221 until further notice; • Logistics teams should monitor CBSA’s online wait-time dashboard, especially during U.S. Thanksgiving returns and the December holiday peak; • Plan for brief overnight closures of commercial lanes in early December.
Long-term outlook: Once complete in 2028, the facility will process 30 % more passenger vehicles and introduce an ArriveCAN-style pre-arrival model for commercial drivers—promising smoother cross-border assignments for Quebec-based manufacturers.
