[2] Canada has had a customs office in the Nelson area since 1900, but this particular crossing did not exist until the Pend Oreille Highway was completed in 1921.

[2] The British Columbia part of the highway was subject to criticism for decades because the road was narrow, winding and rough,[3] making travel slow and difficult.

The United States still occupies the original permanent border station at this crossing, built in the mid-1930s; it was recorded on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1997.

[7] U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced in 2018 that the Metaline Falls station would close at 8 p.m. instead of midnight.

[8] This was cut back further to 4 p.m. in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and remained in place after the border reopened.