Those who don't have proper identification when trying to cross won't be turned back or detained. After getting an explanation, they will be given a flyer that explains the rules and allowed into the United States, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials.

While not everyone has the needed paperwork, they're ready to comply.

"We shop out here, we buy gas out here. I buy all my groceries," said Don Bedard, 70, of St. Paul, Quebec, about four miles from the Alburg Go Go Mart.

"Right now, I don't have my papers. I've got my license and that's it," Bedard said.

But he's planning to get the needed paperwork.

"I ordered it, but when it's going to come in, it might be a few weeks," said Bedard, gassing up Tuesday with his wife Roseann.

Border officials say they aren't expecting the implementation of the additional documentation requirements to slow down traffic across the border.

"The port of Rouses Point is generally locals, coming from Lacolle, Quebec, or northern Vermont," said Michael McMullen, chief inspector for U.S. Customs and Border Protection at Champlain who is also responsible for Rouses Point.

"The locals up in this area have already begun the process of getting the proper WHTI documents," McMullen said, referring to the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. "And this has been going on for probably a couple years now or more."

He says the change in ID requirements shouldn't affect travel plans.

"One of the messages we want to get out to the traveling public is do not change your travel plans for January 31st. We want you to go ahead and travel. This is an opportunity, an education phase where people can learn what they will need for the future."

Alburg is a peninsula of land -- surrounded on three sides by Lake Champlain -- that reaches down from Quebec. The two gas stations at the edge of Lake Champlain take advantage of lower gas prices from New York.

Some people are willing to travel long distances for a cheaper gallon of gas.

On Tuesday, Jean Groulx, 79, from the Montreal suburb of Greenfield Park, said he drove to the Short Stop convenience store on Route 2 for a cheaper tank of gas.

He says he's had a summer home near Lake Champlain for 15 years. Groulx said he'd never had any trouble crossing the border, and doesn't expect any in the future.