TROUT RIVER — A project set to begin at a port of entry between Canada and Franklin County is scheduled to start on June 1 with substantial completion anticipated in May 2028.
The port of entry, in the hamlet of Trout River, located approximately 17 miles north of the village of Malone, will be closed to traffic from the Canadian province of Quebec for the duration of the project, according to a spokesperson with the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA).
The cost of the project is $39.4 million, according to the GSA.
“Beginning June 1, the port will be closed to southbound traffic to ensure uninterrupted work to meet the project completion date,” the GSA statement reads, “Nearby ports at Champlain, Fort Covington, and Mooers will stay open 24/7, while Chateaugay and Churubusco will operate with limited daytime hours.”
The port of entry in Fort Covington is located approximately 14 miles west of Trout River.
Champlain’s port of entry is located approximately 50 miles east of Trout River, while Mooers’ port is about 39 miles east of Trout River.
The port of Chateaugay in Franklin County is no longer a 24/7 crossing and is open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., according to the CBP, and another North Country port of entry that is no longer open 24/7 is located in Churubusco in Clinton County, and is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., with these changes in place since January 2025.
Chateaugay’s port is located approximately 14 miles east of Trout River, while Churubusco is about 23 miles east of Trout River’s port.
Commercial traffic is only allowed to cross into the U.S. from Canada at the Champlain and Chateaugay ports of entry, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Trout River’s port of entry is approximately 11 miles south of the Quebec town of Huntingdon and about 63 miles south of Montreal.
Travelers heading to Quebec from Franklin County will still be able to cross the border into Canada at Trout River during the construction on the American side, according to an email from Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
“Canada Border Services Agency operations at the Trout River port of entry are not impacted by the construction on the U.S. side of the border, according to an email from Karine Martel, a spokesperson with CBSA, “There is no construction or modernization work scheduled for the Canadian side at this time. The road leading to Canada will remain accessible.”
In 2025, a construction project was completed at CBSA’s facilities on the Canadian side of the border at Trout River.
Renovation work on the exterior of the Canadian building was carried out last year and was approved and supervised by a heritage conservation specialist, according to an email from CBSA, which states this process is mandatory for all projects involving a building with heritage designation in Canada with the role of the specialist to ensure that all plans and specifications comply with Canada’s Federal Heritage Review Office.
Canada’s port of entry at Trout River remained open throughout renovation work in 2025, according to Guillaume Bérubé, a media relations manager with CBSA.
June Project
On the American side, the Trout River land port was constructed in 1931 in response to Prohibition era enforcement activities and the growing prominence of automobiles, according to the GSA’s project page for Trout River, which states this facility has a unique relationship to the nearby CBSA inspection station, another protected historic cultural resource.
Starting in June, project objectives at Trout River include preservation of the existing historic structure while modernizing it to better support U.S. CBP operations, according to the project page.
Construction plans include an addition to the existing structure to house and expanded a CBP program that can no longer be supported by the existing structure alone, according to the project page, which states vehicle inspection facilities will be improved to address current operational and CBP officer safety deficiencies.
The project involves renovating the existing 7,748 square-foot building and constructing a new 9,917 square-foot addition for a total of approximately 17,000 gross square feet, according to the project page, which states the new facility will provide CBP with the modern infrastructure and operational capabilities needed to efficiently and effectively carry out inspections.
A total of $35 to $45 million has been budgeted for the project, according to the project page, with a previous cost estimate ranging from $25 to $35 million.
“Essentially the way we initially built the webpage we were talking in a range of what we anticipated the construction contract to be,” Paul Hughes, a GSA spokesperson said, “The $39.4 is the total cost of the project. So it’s not over budget it’s just that we changed the way we are putting numbers on the website. You’ll see a change to the website coming up shortly,” adding the initial range did not include project costs including those related to design-related expenses that would be reflected in the updated page.
Average yearly crossings at the Trout River port of entry include 146,000 personal vehicles, 2,000 commercial vehicles and 50,000 pedestrians, according to the project page.
The general construction contract was awarded in April, with an award value of $32,866,400 and the notice to proceed was issued on Friday, May 1, according to the project page.
The general contractor awarded the bid is Murnane Building Contractors, Inc., according to the GSA’s System for Award Management website.
Work at the port of entry is being funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that was signed into law in November 2021.
County Legislature
At a meeting of the Franklin County legislature on May 7, County Manager Donna J. Kissane described the closure of southbound traffic as a hardship for the county, in addition to the difficulties presented by no longer having a 24/7 port in Trout River or Chateaugay.
“It’s impacting, I believe, the Canadian travelers, who have to be back at the border before 6 p.m., otherwise you have a long way around,” Kissane said, “If they would extend the hours in Chateaugay that would make this much easier for people in this area. Extended Chateaugay hours would make a big difference for us.”
Andrea M. Dumas, R–Malone, said some people who work in the village of Malone live close to the border on the Canadian side, adding employees at Alice Hyde Medical Center commute across the border to get to work, in addition to teachers.
“It’s 40 minutes around,” she said.