A new NEXUS lane opened on Wednesday, July 25, for northbound travelers on State Route 9 at the Sumas-Huntingdon border crossing.

To add the new lane, rarely-used street parking in Sumas was converted by crews with the Washington State Department of Transportation. The far left, northbound lane was converted to a NEXUS lane.

The Canada Border Services Agency also recently expanded its customs facility to include a NEXUS inspection booth.

Cross-border traffic between Canada and Whatcom County has risen in the past few years.

Last fall, the number of vehicles passing through one of the four border crossings in the county was at the highest level since 2001. More than 1 million vehicles crossed in Sumas in 2011, according to the Whatcom Council of Governments.