Local businesses are happy that Aldergrove's border crossing will stay open to truck traffic.
Matthew Claxton, Langley Advance

The Aldergrove Border Crossing will stay open to trucks and is about to be upgraded courtesy of federal infrastructure funding.

Langley MP Mark Warawa said Canada Border Services Agency's regional director has pledged to keep the crossing open to commercial traffic.

An environmental assessment of the site is underway now. Funding for the new building will come from the Border Services Budget, not from federal stimulus spending.
 
Commercial trucks won't lose their place in Aldergrove's border crossing due to security concerns.

"I want to make sure that it has the capacity for commercial traffic, and for 24-hour crossing, and for NEXUS," Warawa said.

There are no official plans yet for the fast-pass system for frequent travelers.

"I'm hoping that one day soon we'll be able to open Aldergrove 24-7," Warawa said.

It will take about one and a half to two years to finish the new structure.

The commitment puts to rest concerns by the local business community that trucks were to be banned from the border crossing due to safety concerns.

"The chamber's very pleased with this," said Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce new president Roberto Farina.
Not only are local businesses excited about the reversal of the decision on truck traffic, but they're hoping longer open hours will cut costs and help with new business opportunities, Farina said.

With the Golden Ears Bridge now open, traffic through Langley is only going to increase, he said.

Chamber executive director Lynn Whitehouse said the efforts of Langley MP Mark Warawa, along with lobbying by municipal politicians and business, helped change the decision.

"Mark has been working quite hard on our behalf in Ottawa," Whitehouse said.

She also pointed to the letters that were signed by the mayors of the Langleys, Surrey and Abbotsford, support not only from the Langley chamber but from neighbouring chambers and from the B.C. Chamber of Commerce.

The B.C. Chamber's membership voted unanimously against shutting the border to truck traffic during its recent annual general meeting in Prince Rupert.

Whitehouse said business owners understood the reasons for the concerns by Canada Border Services. Officials there were worried that the crossing is not secure enough to deal with drug traffickers and other organized criminal smugglers. It currently lacks some of the equipment and facilities present at Peace Arch and the Sumas border crossing.

"The closure was not the answer," Whitehouse said. "The answer is that it had to be upgraded."

© Langley Advance 2009