Structural and civil engineering and protective design services firm KPFF Consulting Engineers has completed the first phase of construction for an expanded Alexandria Bay Land Port of Entry on behalf of the General Services Administration, on time and on budget. KPFF is currently underway on Phase 2 of the infrastructure project.
The Alexandria Bay Land Port of Entry is the sixth-busiest crossing for U.S.-bound commercial vehicles along the U.S. border with Canada. As part of the $215 million infrastructure improvement, KPPF is expanding primary lanes and commercial dock space while building a modern workplace facility for U.S. Customs & Border Protection officers. About 25,000 cubic yards of cast-in-place concrete will be used in the completion of Phases 1 and 2.
Annually, more than 200,000 commercial vehicles and 590,000 passenger vehicles cross Alexandria Bay Land Port. Tourists traveling from the Ottawa, Kingston, Toronto and Montreal, Canada, regions comprise the majority of people crossing in passenger vehicles, with some business travelers to the U.S. The port processes agricultural commerce, including commercial shipments of potatoes, lettuce, yeast and shipments of corn that are refined to produce ethanol.
To complete Phase 1, KPFF provided structural engineering services for the construction of a commercial inspection warehouse with inspection bays, commercial inspection lanes (with split-level booths for commercial and non-commercial traffic), impound lot and a portion of elevated parking.
For the second phase, KPFF is assisting with structural engineering services for a new main administration building, a new outbound inspection facility, a new veterinary services building, non-commercial inspection lanes, a new non-commercial secondary inspection plaza, ancillary inspection facilities and employee and visitor parking areas. In addition to providing a modernized workspace for employees of the U.S. General Services Administration, the new facilities will be used by employees from the Department of Homeland Security, the Food & Drug Administration and the Department of Health & Human Services.
As part of the redevelopment work, roadways are being lengthened and altered to accommodate the new port operations. Fourteen new primary lanes will process passenger traffic, with eight of those lanes equipped to additionally handle commercial vehicles. The expansion adds five more passenger lanes and five extra commercial lanes.
KPFF is working with GSA to ensure the port achieves LEED Silver upon completion.
