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App Gives Estimated Wait Times for Border Crossing

The app gives estimated wait times and open lane status for car and pedestrian lanes at land ports of entry on both the Mexican and Canadian borders.

(TNS) -- Waiting times at the international bridges between El Paso and Juarez are headaches for border residents. Wait times get even longer during the Christmas holiday season.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has no headache relief, but the federal agency now has a smartphone app that allows users to find estimated wait times at land ports of entry on the Mexican and Canadian borders.

"Just like area stores, restaurants and highways, the ports of entry will also be busy this holiday season," Hector Mancha, El Paso director of field operations for Customs and Border Protection, said in a statement. "Being able to remotely check wait times and knowing when all lanes are staffed, and being able to observe current conditions should help the traveling public identify the best times to cross the border quickly,"

The Border Wait Time app, which became available this month, can be downloaded onto a smartphone for free from the Apple App Store and Google Play.

The app gives estimated wait times and open lane status for car and pedestrian lanes at land ports of entry on both the Mexican and Canadian borders.

Travelers can also find current traffic conditions at the Santa Fe, Bridge of the Americas, and Zaragoza bridge on the city of El Paso Web site: home.elpasotexas.gov/bridges/wait-times.php

All car and pedestrian lanes are open at the El Paso area ports of entry between 6-10 a.m., weekdays; 10 a.m.- 2 p.m., Saturdays; and 2-6 p.m., Sundays, Customs and Border Protection officials reported.

Some of the lanes are closed at other times.

©2014 the El Paso Times (El Paso, Texas)