Pembina–Emerson Border Crossing

Pembina–Emerson Border Crossing

Canada Border Inspection Station at Emerson, MB
Location
Country United States; Canada
Location

US Port: 10980 Interstate 29, Pembina, North Dakota 58271

Canadian Port: Manitoba Highway 75, Emerson, Manitoba R0A 0L0
Coordinates 49°00′02″N 97°14′15″W / 49.000477°N 97.237634°W / 49.000477; -97.237634
Details
Opened 1871
US Phone (701) 825-5800
Canadian Phone (204) 373-2524
Hours Open 24 Hours
Website
http://www.cbp.gov/contact/ports/pembina-area-port

The Pembina–Emerson Border Crossing connects the cities of Pembina, North Dakota and Emerson, Manitoba. This crossing is the second busiest on the Canada–United States border west of the Great Lakes, behind only the Pacific Highway Border Crossing.[1] It was created in 1957 with the completion of Interstate 29 (I-29). A few years later, the small crossing facilities on U.S. Route 81 (US 81) immediately to the east were closed and subsequently demolished. The US border station was upgraded in 1996, and the Canada border station was upgraded in 1999. The province of Manitoba estimates annual cross-border trade at Emerson-Pembina to be approximately $14 billion CAD.[2]

History

Original Emerson Customs facilities in West Lynne

In 1871, Emerson was established as the first land border Customs station in Canada. It was created to protect and ultimately collect duty for trade with the Hudson Bay Company trading post that was attacked in a Fenian Raid, and subsequently liberated by the US Cavalry earlier that year.[3]

For many years, this crossing was the smaller of two crossings in Emerson, and was named "West Lynne" (named after the small village that had been absorbed by the Town of Emerson in 1883) to avoid confusion with the larger crossing across from Noyes, Minnesota known as "Emerson East". Following the construction of Interstate 29 in North Dakota and the reconfiguration of Manitoba Highway 75, most cross-border traffic was diverted to the West Lynne-Pembina crossing. The Canadian and American governments closed the Emerson East-Noyes road crossing in the 2000s (Canada in 2003, the US in 2006) and merged operations of the rail inspection facilities with the ports at West Lynne and Pembina, respectively. Following the closure of Emerson East in 2003, the West Lynne crossing was renamed Emerson.

Also located near this crossing is Fort Dufferin, a former Canadian police post, immigration station, and base of the North American Boundary Commission, which surveyed and marked the international border as defined in the Treaty of 1818.[4]

See also

References

  1. "Border Crossing/Entry Data: Query Detailed Statistics". US Deptartment of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  2. Manitoba Government - Current Transportation Planning Studies
  3. McClelland, James; Lewis, Dan (1975). Emerson 1875-1975 A Centennial History (PDF). Town of Emerson, Manitoba. p. 10. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  4. "When Mounties had to go...". Winnipeg Free Press. 7 December 2008. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
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