Canadian Phone (306) 267-2177 | US Phone (406) 783-5375 Opened 1914 | |
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Location US Port: 1440 Hwy 13 North, Scobey, MT 59263-9514Canadian Port: Highway 34, Coronach SK S0H 0Z0 Hours Open 8:00AM - 6:00PM, 8:00AM - 9:00PM (summer only) | ||
The Scobey–Coronach Border Crossing connects the towns of Scobey, Montana and Coronach, Saskatchewan on the Canada–US border. An airport with a grass runway that straddles the border is located on the east side of this crossing.
Contents
History
The US Customs Service established this crossing as a port of entry in 1914, at the peak of the homesteading in this area. The US first built an inspection station at the border in 1937. That red brick roadside border station was replaced by a wooden structure in the median in 1978, and that facility was replaced by a multi-lane border station in 2012. Canada replaced its border stations in 1958, 1981 and 2014.
Biometric System
In 1996, this border crossing became the world's first fully automated port of entry, using biometrics to confirm the identity of travelers. The US and Canadian governments engaged in a cooperative prototype project to enable certain trusted individuals with nothing to declare to cross the border in either direction after the port had closed for the night. Local residents who were enrolled could use a speaker recognition system to open the gates and enter the country without inspection. This system was replaced with a Remote Video Inspection System, which was decommissioned after the September 11 attacks of 2001.