U.S. Customs and Border Protection is planning to cut the operating hours of some ports of entry between Vermont and Canada early next year, the federal agency said in a Tuesday press release.
Starting Jan. 6, 2025, four Vermont crossings that are currently open 24 hours a day will instead be open only from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., according to the agency. Those are the stations in Canaan, North Troy, West Berkshire and Alburgh (on Route 225).
U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not announce plans to alter the hours at any of the state’s other roughly dozen land ports of entry on the northern border — including the major crossings on Interstate 89 in Highgate and Interstate 91 in Derby.
The agency also announced changes at ports of entry in other northern border states that will take effect the same day, including some expansions of operating hours. Several ports of entry in New York State are also set to see reduced hours.
“A small number of ports will see reduced hours in an effort to continually align resources to operational realities,” the release states. It adds that people who use those ports “will have other options within a reasonable driving distance,” though does not specify.
The agency also said its operational changes — made in consultation with the Canadian government — will allow it to deploy officers “to busier ports of entry, enabling the agency to use its resources most effectively for its critical national security and border security missions.”
That aligns with the agency’s findings in a January report commissioned by Congress on land port of entry operations across the country. The report found that “steady global and regional growth” has increased traffic at U.S. ports of entry, but “personnel shortages” have made it difficult to keep up with the increased workload.
“This situation is particularly pronounced on the northern border,” the report states.
To avoid closing any ports of entry for good, the report continues, there is “only one option: CBP must reduce hours at crossings where little, if any, benefit is contributed to trade and travel operations, local communities, and the economy.”
Read the story on VTDigger here: Feds to cut hours at 4 Vermont border crossings.