Feds Urged To Address Inspection Bottleneck At Peace Bridge

Attorney General Spitzer today released the attached correspondence urging federal authorities to expand operations for inspecting commercial vehicles crossing the Peace Bridge in Western New York.

Spitzer says in the letter that lengthy delays at the bridge are harming New York companies involved in the transportation of agricultural products and other perishable items.

According to the attorney general, the situation could be improved dramatically if the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) simply added a weekend shift of inspectors. FDA inspectors currently do not work weekends at the Peace Bridge. As a result, trucks carrying foodstuffs are often parked for 48 hours at the bridge.

"There’s no business where the expression ‘time is money’ means more than commercial trucking," Spitzer said. "The FDA’s current hours of operation place the industry and the State of New York at a competitive disadvantage that could be easily remedied."

Spitzer urged the FDA to adopt the same "24-7" operations schedule used by U.S. Customs at the Peace Bridge. He said that, at a minimum, the FDA should adopt the same schedule that it uses at international bridges in other states. For example, FDA inspectors work weekend shifts at international bridges in Detroit.

The attorney general noted that because of problems getting across the Peace Bridge, an increasing amount of commercial traffic is bypassing upstate New York.

The Attorney General, who has a designee on the Board of Directors of the Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority, met recently with business representatives who complained about the bottlenecks at the bridge.

Attachment:

• PeaceBridge_Letter

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