Shovels break ground at new Pacific Highway FAST lane

SURREY, B.C. — Construction to Hwy 15’s new FAST lane for trucks leading to the Pacific Highway Border crossing in Surrey, B.C. has begun.

FAST is a harmonized program between Canadian and U.S. customs agencies and immigration departments. The program offers expedited clearance processes for pre-approved drivers and commercial shipments crossing the border, and provides a dedicated FAST lane for trucks wherever possible.

“The Pacific Border Crossing is vital to the economy of our province and our nation,” said BC Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon. “That’s why we are moving ahead with this project to ease congestion, reduce border queue lengths and save time and operating costs for FAST commercial vehicles that are moving products to their markets.”

The Pacific Highway crossing is the primary commercial vehicle crossing for the Lower Mainland and the fourth busiest commercial vehicle crossing along the entire Canada-U.S. border. It handles 75 per cent of commercial vehicle traffic in the Lower Mainland with more than 1.1 million southbound commercial vehicles crossing in 2002.

Construction involves building a third southbound lane on Highway 15 from 4th Avenue to 8th Avenue. It will augment the existing southbound FAST truck lane, constructed in 2004, from the border to south of 4th Avenue. The FAST lane extension is scheduled for completion in November.