Estimating wait times at the Lewiston-Queenston and Peace bridges are about to get a lot more real.

Using Bluetooth technology prevalent in many cell phones and recent model year vehicles, customs agents at the two border   crossings will be able to gauge how long a wait is at a spur of the moment.

Canadian and American officials announced the technology upgrades, through the joint Beyond the Border Initiative created   by President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Tuesday.

“Right now, delay times are updated every hour or half hour in busy, high-traffic times of the day,” Lew Holloway, general   manager of the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission, said. “This represents a significant technological upgrade.”

The Canadian and American governments have invested approximately $1.7 million — split half-and-half — in the upgrade, which   will allow travelers on both sides of the border the opportunity to use smartphone technology to get up-to-the-minute information   on traffic at the two crossings.

Installed at the 20 busiest border crossings between the neighboring countries, the sensors gather information from vehicles   with active Bluetooth devices stopped at the customs locations and approach roads to measure and report delays.

Officials said the new information could save approximately 1 million hours per year as travelers make more educated decisions   about which crossing is better to take.

“Delays are more than just an inconvenience,” said Canadian Minister of Justice Rob Nicholson, who also serves as the country’s   attorney general. “They’re bad for tourism and they’re bad for economic growth. This is a step in the right direction.”

Beyond the 1 million hours the upgrade can save travelers each year, Scott Stewart, chairman of Information Technology Services   Canada, said the new system could also translate into about $20 million in cost savings by truckers crossing the border at   more opportune times.

The upgrades will also allow border patrol agents to better manage traffic during high demand, ensure more efficient operations   by allowing agencies to focus their resources and reduce the environmental impact by decreasing emisions from congestion.

All up-to-date information is available in real time on both bridge websites — www.peacebridge.com or www.niagarafallsbridges.com   — or by telephone by calling 1-800-715-6722.

The Rainbow Bridge wasn’t involved in this round of technology upgrades, but Holloway said the Niagara Falls crossing should   get its own upgrade in 2013, once the program expands beyond its initial 20 crossings.