Home > ADVOCACY > Where We Stand > Peace Bridge Support

August 18, 2010


Secretary Ray LaHood
U.S. Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Ave, SE
Washington, DC 20590

Dear Secretary LaHood:

On behalf of the 2,500 employer members of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, I write in strong support of the advancement of the Peace Bridge Expansion Project. The Peace Bridge, a critical infrastructure link between the world’s two leading trading partners, plays an integral role in our region’s competitiveness as a bi-national gateway for commerce, facilitating $82 billion annually in trade between the United States and Canada.

Due to its strategic location and proximity to both U.S. and Canadian customers, delays in implementing the construction phase of the project already have been harmful to our binational economy. The bridge’s current inefficiencies and the inadequacies of the existing U.S. plaza continue to erode the Peace Bridge trade corridor’s earned status as a major international gateway, placing the following economic factors in jeopardy:

•    The Peace Bridge handles over $30 billion in commerce between the United States and Canada every year.

•    As the third busiest commercial crossing in the nation, the Peace Bridge has a significant impact on the overall U.S. economy – freight transported across the bridge is linked to $227.4 billion in annual U.S. sales, income, and federal taxes. This freight is also linked to more than one million U.S. jobs.

•    Passenger vehicle visitors that cross the Peace Bridge, the second busiest passenger crossing in the nation, spend an estimated $235 million annually in the U.S. each year. 

With the capacity improvements proposed by the Expansion Project, the Peace Bridge holds unmatched potential to play an even more crucial role in the CanAm trade relationship. Beyond improving the way the border functions and thus boosting regional commerce and tourism, the project will benefit the nation as a whole by ensuring more efficient international access between the U.S. and its number one trading partner.

The statistics are difficult to ignore – both the staggering economic impact of the Peace Bridge and the damage that could be done if this project is left to languish. As the United States struggles to recover from the recession, our country must place more importance on economic prosperity through international trade. On behalf of a region which depends greatly on the flow of goods and services across the CanAm border, I urge the U.S. Department of Transportation’s support of the Peace Bridge Expansion Project.

Sincerely,

Andrew J. Rudnick

cc.     Mr. Alan Taylor, Regional Director, NYSDOT Region 5 
          Mr. Kenneth Schoetz, Chairman, Buffalo and Fort Erie Bridge Authority
          Mr. Ron Reinas, General Manager, Buffalo and Fort Erie Bridge Authority