Long delays at U.S. border

(Update)
If you’re crossing the border this long Easter weekend, you’d better pack your patience. It took some motorists up to three hours just to get across. Traffic was moving so slowing on highway 405 near the Queenston bridge that drivers could step out of their cars for a bit, while other people were walking off the highway into the duty free shop knowing their vehicle wasn’t going anywhere soon. Even a woman with a child got out for a stroll.

“I did say to my husband it is a long weekend.”

Traffic wasn’t moving any faster at any of the other crossings.

“This is almost exactly one hour that we’ve been waiting to get across.”

One hour to move less than a kilometre!

“The signs actually app re-routed us here. So now we’re in more traffic than we thought.”

Even longer waits at the Peace bridge — cars were backed up to Central Avenue. People at this point would be lucky to get across in two hours.

And not everyone’s going to shop. Some were trying to catch flights in Buffalo: “We’re hoping it’s enough time.”

Others are just trying to get to their hotel in Niagara Falls.

“This has a similar wait time just to get to the Falls.”

If there’s anything positive about being trapped in traffic, it’s giving drivers time to relax and even file their nails if they want to.

Near the dinner hour, the traffic going into the States at the Rainbow bridge had cleared — but the backups were sizeable coming into Canada.

And officials say the backups on Saturday will be even worse.

Border time tool

Just in time for the long weekend, the Canada Border Services Agency launched a new feature on its website yesterday to help determine border wait times. Travellers can checked current or forecasted wait times, or find tips on the best times to travel. The current border wait times are updated at least once an hour on the website.

You can still visit the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission website for updates on the Niagara Bridges.