Five land ports of entry in Maine will modernize with $150M in new federal funds
Five land ports of entry along Maine's border with Canada have received $150 million in federal funding for modernization projects and new construction.
The ports of entry include Coburn Gore, Calais-Ferry Point, Fort Fairfield, Limestone, and Houlton. The funding was provided by the General Services Administration under the recently enacted infrastructure law.
“Many Mainers in the second district rely on a safe and secure port of entry to do business and stay in touch with family across the Canadian border,” said U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine 2nd District, in a news release. “Not only will this investment from the bipartisan infrastructure law help enhance security and safety on our northern border and fight drug trafficking, it will also support jobs and provide a boost to local economies in rural Maine.”
The border stations are the facilities that manage the entry into or departure from the United States for people and goods. The stations house the U.S. Customs and Border Protection offices and other federal inspection agencies responsible for the enforcement of federal laws.
The Maine land ports are among 26 nationwide that will be funded through the infrastructure law. The average land port of entry is nearly 40 years old and long overdue for upgrades, according to the GSA.
The GSA held a groundbreaking in September to mark the official start of the Madawaska border station project, which will replace the existing entry port built in 1959. The new land port of entry will be built to complement the Madawaska-Edmundston International Bridge replacement, now under construction.
The border station modernization projects will also allow Customs and Border Protection agents to deploy new technology for identifying high-risk activity and shipments, combat drug trafficking, and increase operational security.
Currently, there are 167 border stations along the U.S. boundaries with Canada and Mexico. The GSA owns and operates 102 of these, and the rest are either owned and operated by the CBP or are leased to the government by local governments or private entities.
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What? Kittery is not a land port from the lower 48?
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