Canada-bound commercial trucks face long lines at border crossings due to processing delays

Trucks lined up at the Lewiston-Queenston International Bridge crossing. (Supplied)

Commercial trucks entering Canada at border crossings in Niagara are facing long wait times due to lingering delays after a system outage earlier this week.

The traffic congestion has prompted the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission (NFCB) to ask trucks to avoid the Lewiston-Queenston International Bridge Crossing until further notice.

Photos shared by the commission show long lines of commercial trucks at the Lewiston-Queenston crossing.

Trucks crossing over the Peace Bridge are also facing long lines.

The NFCB said the processing delays are caused by a Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) systems outage that began on Sunday morning and was resolved on Tuesday afternoon.

“While CBSA has implemented a processing systems fix, the resulting delays continue, and all adjacent queuing areas within the Western New York region are at or beyond capacity,” the commission said.

The NFCB noted passenger vehicles and pedestrians may continue to use the border crossings.

Guillaume Berube, the media relations manager for the CBSA, said issues began after routine maintenance on Sunday morning.

“A data entry problem during the maintenance caused the outage and is being investigated,” Berube said in an email.

He noted that inspections of commercial shipments had to be conducted manually using paper forms during the outage.

“Although the outage has been resolved, commercial drivers continue to experience delays as we resume normal processing and continue to clear a backlog of requests that were received during the outage,” Berube said.

“Systems are being monitored for stability while traffic and shipping return to normal.”

Berube noted the CBSA is working with its partners to ensure traffic management.

“We thank commercial drivers for their cooperation and apologize for any inconvenience.”