No. H009/06
For release March 28, 2006
The governments of Canada, the United States, Ontario and Michigan are moving
forward in a Border Transportation Partnership to implement a long-range
transportation strategy addressing the various challenges at the Windsor-Detroit
Gateway.
The Ontario Ministry of Transportation, together in partnership with Transport
Canada, is leading the Canadian portion of the Detroit River International
Crossing (DRIC) environmental study process, which is seeking a long-term
solution to border transportation issues.
The Partnership is considering the entire border transportation system — river
crossing, inspection plazas, and access roads — to achieve an end-to-end
solution that will best meet current and future mobility needs, while minimizing
impacts on the surrounding communities and environment to the greatest practical
extent.
Since the Area of Continued Analysis was announced on November 14, 2005, the
DRIC study team has met with stakeholder groups 46 times and conducted
additional work as part of the Environmental Assessment (EA) process.
As a result of the work conducted to date, the DRIC study team is carrying
forward five options for the access road, three inspection plazas, and three
river crossing locations for further analysis and community consultation.
Detailed evaluation of these options will lead to identification of a single
preferred alternative by mid-2007.
Access Road Options
The access road in Canada will be a six-lane freeway, extending the Highway 401
to the new plaza and river crossing. This is expected to accommodate current and
future traffic flows in the Windsor-Detroit Gateway, and will separate local
from international traffic.
The access road options carried forward for the next stage of the EA process
are:
6-lane freeway in a cut and cover tunnel below a rebuilt Huron Church
Road/Hwy 3
6-lane freeway at grade, parallel to Huron Church Road/Hwy 3
6-lane freeway at grade, with one-way service roads on either side
6-lane freeway depressed, parallel to Huron Church Road/Hwy 3
6-lane freeway depressed, one-way service roads on either side
Inspection Plazas
Three inspection plaza options carried forward for the next stage of the EA
process are:
In the Brighton Beach area - This plaza option can be connected to the
crossings options in the areas of the marine fueling station and Prospect
Avenue.
South of E.C. Row, East of Ojibway Parkway - This plaza option can be
connected to all three crossing options.
At the waterfront, between Prospect Avenue and Broadway Boulevard - This
plaza option can be connected to the crossing option in the area of the marine
fueling station.
River Crossings
Three river crossing options carried forward for the next stage of the EA
process are:
In the area of Brighton Beach
In the area of Prospect Avenue
In the area of the marine fueling station
The Border Transportation Partnership will continue to work with the
community to find the solution that provides the best balance of transportation
benefits and environmental (including community) impacts.
Next Steps
In Canada, Public Information Open Houses will be held in the Windsor-Essex area
on March 28 at the Ciociaro Club in Tecumseh and on March 30 at the Novelletto
Rosati Sports and Recreation Complex in Windsor to present the alternatives and
technical assessment behind today's Border Transportation Partnership
announcement. The U.S. technical teams will be hosting similar public meetings
on March 29, 2006.
The next phase of the study will examine the opportunities and challenges of the
various specific options in more detail, as part of the ongoing environmental
study process. The technical team will actively engage the community and
stakeholders in this process and continue coordination with our U.S. partners.
Technical work that will be conducted as part of the EA process will include,
among other studies: seismic studies; acoustic site reviews and noise
assessment/modeling; air quality assessments including burden and dispersion
modelling of pollutants; archeological studies, and mitigation studies.
The evaluation will be considered in the context of the international and
national significance of the Detroit River crossing in terms of the economy,
security, and ability to provide continuous river crossing capacity.
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Contacts:
Mark Butler
Communications
Transport Canada, Windsor
(519) 967-4280
(519) 257-1722 - cell
Bob Nichols
Communications Branch
Ontario Ministry of Transportation, Toronto
(416) 327-1158
Transport Canada is online at www.tc.gc.ca. Subscribe to news releases and speeches at apps.tc.gc.ca/listserv/ and keep up-to-date on the latest from Transport Canada.
This news release may be made available in alternative formats for persons with visual disabilities.
Ontario Ministry of Transportation is online at
http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/.
