New project plans to cut down the long lines at the Queenston-Lewiston bridge

At its busiest, the Queenston-Lewiston bridge can see wait times of up to 3 hours but 6 new U.S. bound traffic lanes are coming to help ease the congestion.

It’s part of a $91 million modernization project that will also see the construction of a new customs inspection building.

“The agreement between us and U.S. customs and TSA to form a lease, its been a long process so we’re happy to get it going and get construction started.” Kenneth Bieger, Niagara Falls bridge commission.

The bridge is the fourth-busiest border crossing in Canada with 2.6 million passenger vehicles and 800 000 trucks crossing a year.

In 2011 the Canadian side invested $127 million in improvements to speed the flow of traffic coming from the U.S. into Canada and with this project the Americans are hoping to see similar results.

Once renovations are complete there will be a total of 16 lanes, one of which will be specifically reserved for buses.

The project is expected to take 4.5 years to complete, officials say primary inspection lanes will remain open during construction.