Alberta News­pa­per Group

Upgrades to the bor­der cross­ing nearest to Medi­cine Hat are advan­cing after years of local advocacy.

The Canada Bor­der Ser­vices Agency is under­tak­ing the Land Bor­der Cross­ing Project, a major infra­struc­ture project to upgrade or replace ports of entry across the coun­try.

Wild Horse, a cross­ing loc­ated about an hour and a half south of Medi­cine Hat down High­way 41, is the only Alberta port included in the project.

South­east Alberta Cham­ber of Com­merce pres­id­ent Aaron Flem­ing says the announce­ment rep­res­ents pro­gress in achiev­ing a policy pri­or­ity for the cham­ber.

“Our policy calls for expan­ded and more con­sist­ent hours at Wild Horse to reduce bot­tle­necks and strengthen Alberta’s trade capa­city with the United States,” he said.

Alberta is cur­rently the only Cana­dian province bor­der­ing the U.S. with only one 24-hour port of entry.

Flem­ing says con­ver­sa­tions have been tak­ing place with other Alberta cham­bers and with cham­bers on the U.S. side of the bor­der to expand access.

“The nat­ural cor­ridor we have for energy that goes between Texas and Fort McMur­ray – the most dir­ect line comes right through Wild Horse.”

Adding a second 24-hour bor­der cross­ing there, Flem­ing says, could shave hours off the trip for goods and per­son­nel passing through that chan­nel.

Alberta’s one 24-hour cross­ing is loc­ated at Coutts. The Wild Horse port of entry is open to trav­el­lers from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with an exten­sion until 9 p.m. in the sum­mer months.

Com­mer­cial cli­ents are served at the port from

8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Cham­ber of Com­merce has long pushed for exten­ded hours at the at Wild Horse.

CBSA says there are no plans to adjust hours at this time. That said, the agency has the abil­ity to extend or amend hours of ser­vice flex­ibly as needed.

Flem­ing still looks at the upgrades as a win, and, he hopes, a pre­cursor to fur­ther oper­a­tional expan­sion.

“This is a win. This is something that we’ve looked for improve­ment in for a long time, because this will allow for lengthened hours and addi­tional ser­vices, and then we can look at longer hours.”

CBSA says Wild Horse will receive a new main build­ing, a covered primary lane and a detached sec­ond­ary gar­age as part of renov­a­tions. It will also be equipped with an inspec­tion booth for pas­sen­ger and com­mer­cial vehicles.

Although a South­east Alberta Cham­ber of Com­merce release indic­ated con­struc­tion may start in June, an Aug. 6 state­ment from CBSA indic­ated it is still in the plan­ning phase.

The cham­ber estim­ates the project will take five months to com­plete once com­menced.

Flem­ing says con­struc­tion, land­scap­ing, snow removal and main­ten­ance con­tracts for the upgraded port are likely to be gran­ted to Medi­cine Hat busi­nesses. Some con­tracts have already been awar­ded as the cross­ing gears up to expand ser­vices.

Up-to-date inform­a­tion on CBSA ser­vices and oper­a­tions, includ­ing hours and clos­ures, can be found at @Can­Bor­der on X and Face­book.

Online link: https://www.pressreader.com/canada/prairie-post-east-edition/20260820/281651081947030