The Blaine County Journal News-Opinion - We've Got The County Covered

Drivers planning to access the border from central or northeast Montana will soon have fewer 24 hour crossing choices. Beginning December 27 the Port of Raymond will reduce its hours from round the clock to a new opening time of 8am each day. The Port of Raymond is north of Plentywood in the northeast corner of Montana. From Port of Entry Raymond the nearest 24 hour commercial crossing will be 92 miles to the east, at Portal, North Dakota, or 335 miles west at Sweetgrass, Montana.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) did a two year study of traffic crossing the border, at the Raymond crossing, during the midnight shift and found the average was 3.0 vehicles in 2014 and 3.39 in 2015. CBP decided to reduce the operations to 16 hours per day, with the new opening time at 8am. The Port of Raymond will continue to operate as a designated commercial crossing.

In a letter to Gil Kerlikowske, commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Montana’s U.S. Senator Jon Tester pointed out the reduced hours would mean “…a nearly 550 mile gap between 24-hour ports on our northern border.” Tester noted that’s a greater distance than from Detroit to Washington, DC.

Tester’s letter continued, “It is unacceptable to create a gap of this magnitude as it would undoubtedly have a negative impact on our opportunities for trade with Canada.” The Senator urged CBP to “hold off on any final decisions about this proposal until more options can be considered.” Tester is a member of the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee.

Closer to our area, the Port of Turner is open, during September 16 to May, 31, from 9am to 6pm (hours in the summer are lengthened). At the two crossings north of Havre during the winter months, Wild Horse hours are 8am to 5pm and at Willow Creek, 9am to 5pm.

For more details about port of entry crossing hours you can call Chief Lynn Hurst, Great Falls Area Port of Entry, at 406-453-7631, extension 706.