NIPIGON, ON – If you’re looking to avoid delays after the partial closure of the Nipigon River Bridge on Hwy. 11/17 near Thunder Bay, we’ve learned from the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) has taken pity on us.

With only one lane of the bridge open, trucks are being escorted across one by one, meaning a delay of about an hour. Engineering assessments have not been completed, and there’s no indication how soon normal traffic will resume.

In the meantime USCBP will allow commercial vehicles to ship Canadian domestic goods in transit through the U.S. at select ports of entry. It has agreed to a temporary emergency contingency plan, says the CTA, which allows Canadian trucks to enter the U.S. at Port Huron, Detroit, or Sault Ste. Marie, MI; International Falls or Grand Portage, MN (between 8 am and 4 pm); and Pembina, ND. The option will be gone once normal bridge traffic resumes.

To address the value-of-shipment issue, the carrier will provide its bond value or a default value of $2.00/pound.

“We are extremely pleased by and appreciative of this outcome and the swiftness with which our concerns were responded to,” says David Bradley, president and CEO of both the CTA and the Ontario Trucking Association.

While it has been technically legal for Canadian carriers to move Canadian goods in-transit through the U.S., since 9/11 USCBP has treated such shipments as international in nature. That effectively choked off the ability to move freight via U.S. routes.

The Alliance warns that, even with this temporary in-transit solution, all current U.S.-entry regulatory requirements remain intact. In other words, if a driver has never crossed the border before, this may not be the best time to start.

“Those unfamiliar with border crossing procedures could face increased delays when they arrive,” says the CTA. “It should be noted that all driver and shipment requirements will remain consistent with admissibility, meaning drivers will need WHTI compliant documents, carriers will have to supply advance manifest information, and goods regulated by other government agencies such as FDA, APHIS, EPA or TDG must meet the requirements of the respective department.”

There are also size-and-weight restrictions, of course.

In related news, the Ontario Ministry of Transportation is now accepting permit applications that require oversize/overweight travel crossing the NipigonRiverBridge with restrictions.

At the moment, the CTA says applications are being accepted for a maximum width of 4.99 metres, length of 25 metres, and a weight maximum of 63,500 kg, height currently not affected. A diagram detailing overall width and height measurements must accompany the application. It must also include the measurement from the ground up where the over-width begins.

In the permitting process, each application will be assessed by the North West Region.

Given recent history, who knows how long this process might take. The fact that permits will be issued locally bodes well.