B.C.-U.S. border waits for long weekend

Whether your long-weekend plans include a flight, boat, or road trip, travellers across the province are being urged to plan ahead and expect delays as they head out of town for B.C. Day.

For road trippers heading south for the weekend, border crossings between B.C. and Washington were already starting to see volume pick up as of noon Friday.

The Peace Arch and Pacific Highway crossings were each seeing waits of about an hour as of 4:40 p.m., with traffic moving.

The Aldergrove and Sumas border crossings were less busy to start the weekend, with minimal waits at both for southbound traffic as of 2:30 p.m.

Patience and planning

Travellers are being reminded to be prepared, plan ahead, and be patient if their long-weekend plans involve a drive across the border.

That’s the case whether you’re heading into the U.S. or back into Canada.

“It’s very good to be prepared in advance. We would recommend that travellers have all their documents ready for travel — so their passport or their NEXUS card. They should be prepared to make a declaration for themselves, as well as the people in their car, so when the officer asks what they have, know what you’re bringing across the border,” explained CBSA Superintendent Daphne Chin.

“If you’re not sure, you can always ask the officer. The officer would be happy to answer any questions you may have.”

Chin says many people like to maximize their long weekends, meaning border crossings tend to be busy Friday afternoon into Saturday morning, and then all day Monday.

She adds the CBSA closely monitors what’s happening at its border crossings to ensure staffing is adequate to meet demand.

“We do monitor the border wait times throughout the day and the resources. We do closely see what the volumes are as they do change and they peak at different times and at different crossings. So the CBSA is committed to reallocating and adjusting resources, as needed, to meet the volume demands,” Chin told CityNews.

Make sure to tune in to CityNews 1130 every :39 past the hour for the Border Report. We’ll also have any major updates in traffic on the ones.

Subscribe to breaking news alerts and follow us on Twitter for more.