Travellers using Quebec’s busiest land port of entry got welcome relief this weekend as the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) opened a dedicated NEXUS lane at the smaller Lacolle Route 221 crossing—about 10 minutes from the main Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle facility on Highway 15/I-87. The measure, announced 22 November, comes as the main port undergoes a multiyear rebuild that has reduced passenger booths and commercial bays until at least December 2027.
The temporary NEXUS lane operates daily from 08:00 to 22:00 and will remain in service until the primary inspection line at Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle reopens. The crossing handles more than two million travellers and 300,000 trucks annually—vital for just-in-time shipments linking Montreal manufacturers with U.S. plants in New York State. Early feedback from exporters indicates that diverting trusted travellers to Route 221 has eased wait times during U.S. Thanksgiving returns, traditionally one of the busiest weekends of the year.
![CBSA opens temporary NEXUS lane to keep Quebec–U.S. traffic moving during Lacolle rebuild]()
Construction upgrades include biometric-ready kiosks, heated pavement for snow removal, and enhanced radiation-detection portals—part of a broader CAD 450-million border-modernisation programme. CBSA says the redesigned site will process 30 percent more vehicles and introduce an ArriveCAN-style pre-arrival model for truckers once complete.
For global-mobility teams, the key advice is to alert employees enrolled in NEXUS who commute between Montreal and U.S. head offices to use Route 221 and monitor CBSA’s wait-time dashboard. Logistics managers should budget for overnight commercial-lane closures in early December and factor potential detours into delivery SLAs. CBSA warns that failure to follow posted detours could nullify FAST or C-TPAT privileges.
The project underscores Ottawa’s shift toward technology-heavy border infrastructure designed to slash inspection times and collect advance data. Mobility professionals may see similar detour lanes at other rebuild sites as the CBSA rolls out its National Ports of Entry Modernisation Strategy through 2030.
The temporary NEXUS lane operates daily from 08:00 to 22:00 and will remain in service until the primary inspection line at Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle reopens. The crossing handles more than two million travellers and 300,000 trucks annually—vital for just-in-time shipments linking Montreal manufacturers with U.S. plants in New York State. Early feedback from exporters indicates that diverting trusted travellers to Route 221 has eased wait times during U.S. Thanksgiving returns, traditionally one of the busiest weekends of the year.
Construction upgrades include biometric-ready kiosks, heated pavement for snow removal, and enhanced radiation-detection portals—part of a broader CAD 450-million border-modernisation programme. CBSA says the redesigned site will process 30 percent more vehicles and introduce an ArriveCAN-style pre-arrival model for truckers once complete.
For global-mobility teams, the key advice is to alert employees enrolled in NEXUS who commute between Montreal and U.S. head offices to use Route 221 and monitor CBSA’s wait-time dashboard. Logistics managers should budget for overnight commercial-lane closures in early December and factor potential detours into delivery SLAs. CBSA warns that failure to follow posted detours could nullify FAST or C-TPAT privileges.
The project underscores Ottawa’s shift toward technology-heavy border infrastructure designed to slash inspection times and collect advance data. Mobility professionals may see similar detour lanes at other rebuild sites as the CBSA rolls out its National Ports of Entry Modernisation Strategy through 2030.
