Whatcom Council of Governments

IMTC Pacific Highway Commercial Vehicle Operations Evaluation Study

IMTC participants have identified the need to periodically evaluate commercial vehicle operations (CVO) at the Cascade Gateway's three ports-of-entry as a priority for informing regional investment strategies, and to analyze the impacts of changes to road and inspection systems.

2009 CVO Evaluation Survey

The Whatcom Council of Governments partnered with the Border Policy Research Institute (BPRI) at Western Washington University, and the University of Washington to conduct a 2009 evaluation of commercial vehicle movement through the Pacific Highway, Lynden/Aldergrove, and Sumas/Huntingdon ports-of-entry.

The analysis included measurement of border processing rates, northbound and southbound at all three crossings, as well as the collection of origin-destination and commodity data. Data were collected July, 2009 by a team of Western Washington University students.

The final report is available here.

A presentation of results, full project database, and project documentation are available by contacting Melissa Miller, Project Coordinator, at (360) 676-6974.

The project also included an internet survey sent to dispatchers of carrier companies operating at the Pacific Highway port-of-entry. The results from this analysis were compiled by the University of Washington and are available in their final report.

A BPRI Border Policy Brief reviewed data gathered during this survey effort as part of its analysis, "Issues of Efficacy of FAST at the Cascade Gateway."

As part of the project, surveyors also collected information about bus arrivals and bus/charter passengers crossing at the Pacific Highway port-of-entry. This database is also available upon request.

Surveyors also completed a border signage inventory, which catalogued all border-related signage on the routes approaching and at the four Cascade Gateway ports-of-entry. To view the signage inventory online, click here.

For more information about the project, contact Hugh Conroy, Project Manager, at (360) 676-6974 or David Davidson, Associate Director of BPRI, at 360)650-2642.

2006 CVO Evaluation

Since the original 2002 IMTC CVO study, changes have impacted the movement and processing of commercial vehicles through Pacific Highway:

1. Advanced cargo information is now required, meaning that trucks no longer park in the parking lot and file their paperwork with brokers at the site. Paperwork must be received by U.S. Customs and Border Protection a full hour in advance of the truck (or 30 minutes prior to arrival if the truck is in the FAST program).
2. Electronically-filed manifests are now mandatory, although at the time of the survey in 2006, e-manifests were still optional. However many carriers were choosing to use this method to file.
3. The FAST lane has been operational, with its own alignment and a dedicated booth, since the last study.
4. Southbound infrastructure changes have altered the way trucks queue at the border, providing better separation of commercial and passenger vehicles and streamlining traffic.
5. Radiation portal monitors have been installed ahead of the primary booths southbound, which alter the queuing dynamics by slowing the transition time between trucks and increasing total primary processing time.
6. The ACE portal is being used by U.S. Customs and Border Protection to process vehicles at the primary booths. This data entry system is different than what was being used in 2002.

Given the changes at Pacific Highway since 2002, IMTC participants were interested in seeing if the border wait times have improved five years after the original study and after substantial investments in infrastructure improvements. The study examined changes in queueing patterns, travel delay, and processing times at the border, and also attempted to attribute any improvements to discreet projects or initiatives at the border. The study also collected data to be used for ongoing modeling efforts and to develop a baseline for future project monitoring.

Initial results showed that the new alignment of southbound B.C. Highway 15 has improved overall travel time for FAST-approved trucks using the ITS lane. For other trucks, however, through-border travel time decreased from 2002, despite roadway improvements.

Despite the fact that the number of commercial vehicles crossing the border are down 13 percent since 2002, border crossings took more time. This is predominantly due to longer primary booth processing times, which have increased by 110 percent since 2002.

A full analysis of results is available in the final report.

For More Information contact: Hugh Conroy, Whatcom Council of Governments, (360) 676-6974 or Chris Hoff, Transport Canada, (604) 312-8191.

The 2002 Pacific Highway ITS Deployment Evaluation Study

This original study was sponsored by U.S. Federal Highway Administration and completed by SAIC and TSi Consultants to evaluate the potential benefits of ITS deployment at the Pacific Highway port-of-entry. The study specifically looked at current delay and estimated future delay with and without the addition of an electronic commercial vehicle processing lane such as a FAST (Free and Secure Trade)Program lane.

The 2002 study concluded that substantial benefits could be achieved if even 15 percent of commercial vehicles crossing at Pacific Highway were to use a specialized ITS lane.