The Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority has begun the process of reopening the third traffic lane on the Peace Bridge for the 2018 summer travel season. 

This re-opening follows a reduction to two traffic lanes as of October 2017, which was undertaken to accommodate ongoing construction activities related to the Authority’s three year $100 million Peace Bridge rehabilitation project. 

All three lanes will be fully functional by the morning of May 16 and will remain open throughout the summer season while other elements of the bridge rehabilitation project continue.

The $100 million rehabilitation project is scheduled for full completion in spring 2019.

“For the second consecutive year, the single lane closure during the fall and winter months had little adverse impact on traffic flows,” said Kenneth Manning, chair of PBA’s board of directors. 

“Now that spring is here and summer is nearly upon us, the PBA is re-opening the third lane to accommodate the many cross-border travellers we expect to see crossing the Peace Bridge this summer.”

Prior to the single lane closure, the PBA retained Jacobs Civil Consultants, Inc. to review the impact of operating a two-lane bridge during the period of a winter lane closure. 

According to Richard Gobeille, National Toll and Finance Manager for Jacobs Civil Consultants, “one lane of traffic in each direction can certainly accommodate normal traffic flows across the Peace Bridge, both east and west bound, especially during months when daily traffic volumes are significantly lower than in the summer season.”

The Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority, a binational bridge authority, has owned and operated the Peace Bridge since 1933. 

The bridge was opened to traffic in 1927.