$33.2 million awarded for Pacific Highway port of entry construction and design

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced it had awarded a $33.2 million grant to a Native-owned small business for the design and construction of a significant upgrade and expansion of the Pacific Highway port of entry in Blaine.

The grant was given to T1-RJS Joint Venture LLC, a North Bend, Oregon-based corporate collaboration between Tribal One, a Coquille Indian Tribe-owned firm, and RJS Construction, a woman- and Native American-owned construction business. The grant was awarded through the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) Business Development program, which seeks to award competitive bids to companies from underserved and underrepresented communities.

The project will alter the traffic configuration to improve vehicle flow, add four vehicle inspection lanes bringing the capacity up to 10 total lanes, and add six enlarged bays for vehicle inspection, according to GSA.

The full-service, 24-hour land port of entry connects State Highway 543 in Blaine with the Pacific Highway in Surrey, B.C. One of the busiest U.S./Canada ports in the western U.S., the Pacific Highway port was last expanded in 1999, and while it is predominantly used for commercial vehicles, it has seen an increase in noncommercial vehicle traffic in recent years, according to GSA.

The $25 million of funding came from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which earmarked a total of $3.4 billion for land port of entry improvements by GSA, and an additional $8 million came from the Inflation Reduction Act.

A condition of the Inflation Reduction Act funding will be for the new lanes and canopies to be built with low-emission concrete and steel. The project’s material-related emissions will be reduced by an estimated 190 metric tons of carbon dioxide, according to GSA.

“You can’t have a big-league economy with little league infrastructure,” congressman Rick Larsen, lead Democrat for the transportation and infrastructure committee, said. “A more modern port of entry will also reduce congestion and wait times for travelers, improve public safety, and further promote cross-border trade and tourism in the United States and Canada.”

According to GSA, construction is expected to begin by July 2025, and “substantial completion” is expected by November 2026. For more information and updates, visit the GSA website at bit.ly/3YqMsSO.