A Penticton company has been awarded an $18.1 million contract to build a new border crossing at Paterson, south of Rossland.
It’s not known how many bids there were, but the contract to Greyback Construction Ltd. was awarded on April 9. In addition to construction the contract calls for paving, landscaping, demolition, and utility work.
It’s part of a broader plan by the Canada Border Services Agency to upgrade or replace its ports of entry. A new building will take the place of the current one “and will be rebuilt within the existing site footprint,” according to an online summary of the project.
Work is expected to begin this summer and be completed in the summer of 2028. The work is to be done gradually so that the crossing remains open throughout the project. The Paterson crossing is open 24 hours per day.
The new facility will have a larger building, a primary inspection lane booth, three new covered bays, and a new enclosed bay. Some existing buildings will remain in use until the new ones are complete, and then they will be demolished.
The project has been on the books since 2018, when an environmental report was commissioned. That review was updated last year and an archaeological overview was also conducted, finding the potential for disturbing artifacts as “little to none.”
The existing border station was reportedly built in 1950 and upgraded in 1980 and 1990. A new crossing on the US side at Frontier opened in 2011.
