No. H 118/08
For release - May 1, 2008
WINDSOR, ONTARIO - The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, today welcomed the proposal from the Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC) study team on the technically preferred alternative for the access road from Highway 401 to the proposed new international border crossing.
The recommended proposal - the Windsor-Essex Parkway - is an important milestone and represents the result of years of technical studies, analysis and community input. Over the next months, the DRIC study team will continue preparation of final documents for submission to provincial and federal environmental regulatory agencies.
The proposed Parkway would remove trucks from city streets and improve the flow of international trade and traffic across the border. This project would also boost the economy of the Windsor-Essex region by helping to create up to 12,000 direct and indirect jobs.
"Our Government committed $400 million to this project in Budget 2007 to deliver economic benefits, increased employment, and a cleaner environment for the region," said Minister Cannon. "The Windsor Essex Parkway will enhance the quality of life for the people here and is an important and positive step towards the completion of the Detroit River International Crossing. In the spirit of open federalism, our Government is delivering for a stronger, safer and better Canada - a commitment we made and we are keeping our word."
The Province of Ontario has jurisdictional responsibility for the new Parkway. The Government of Canada's commitment will come from the new merit-based Gateways and Border Crossings Fund that is part of the Building Canada Plan.
The DRIC study team will announce the preferred location of the plaza and bridge crossing in the coming months. The Government of Canada is committed to providing additional border crossing capacity between Windsor and Detroit that is subject to appropriate public oversight. The federal government remains committed to working with its partners to complete the new crossing as early as possible.
The Governments of Canada, the United States, Ontario and Michigan are moving forward in a bi-national partnership, the DRIC study, to implement a 30-year transportation strategy addressing the various challenges at the Windsor-Detroit corridor. In Canada, the Ontario Ministry of Transportation in coordination with Transport Canada is leading the DRIC study. The Michigan Department of Transportation, in coordination with the U.S. Federal Highway Administration, is leading the U.S. work program.
Through its unprecedented $33-billion Building Canada infrastructure plan, the Government of Canada will provide long-term, stable and predictable funding to help meet infrastructure needs across Canada. Building Canada will support a stronger, safer and better country.
Backgrounders on transportation investments in Windsor and Essex County and the Ontario-Quebec continental gateway and trade corridor are attached.
For more information on the Windsor-Essex Parkway, visit www.weparkway.ca.
For more information on DRIC, visit www.partnershipborderstudy.com.
Karine White
Press Secretary
Cabinet du ministre des Office of the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, Ottawa
613-991-0700
Mark Butler
Transport Canada, Windsor
519-967-4280
Transport Canada is online at www.tc.gc.ca. Subscribe to news releases and speeches at www.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.
Transportation Investments in Windsor and Essex County
The governments of Canada and Ontario recognize that Windsor and Essex counties contribute significantly to the prosperity of the provincial and national economies, particularly Canada-U.S. trade. That is why both levels of government have been making significant transportation investments in this area.
Recognizing that the implementation of a new border crossing will take time, federal, provincial and local governments are also implementing short- and medium-term measures to relieve congestion and improve traffic flows to existing crossings until a new crossing is in place.
Let's Get Windsor-Essex Moving strategy
The Let's Get Windsor-Essex Moving strategy is a $300-million joint investment by the Government of Canada and the Province of Ontario to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion at the Windsor-Detroit Gateway. The fourth phase of the Highway 401 widening project is included as part of the strategy.
Recent progress on the Let's Get Windsor-Essex Moving strategy includes:
- a pedestrian overpass on Huron Church Road at Assumption High School;
- new intelligent transportation systems to improve traffic management, video monitoring and driver information;
- new signs directing trucks to the Detroit-Windsor truck ferry;
- intersection improvements on Highway 3 at Outer Drive and Walker Road, and Huron Church Road at Industrial Drive; and
- the start of construction on the Walker Road CPR grade separation.
Highway improvements from Windsor to Tilbury
The Government of Canada and the Province of Ontario have invested more than $273 million to date to widen Highway 401. The work involves five phases:
Phase One - Essex Road 42 to Highway 77
With an investment of more than $60 million, construction of this section of Highway 401 has been completed and improvements included:
- widening Highway 401 from four to six lanes to reduce congestion;
- installing a concrete median barrier to enhance safety; and
- improving the Essex Road 42 and Highway 77 interchanges, including commuter parking lots, new lighting, and turning lanes on both Highway 77 and Essex Road 42.
Phase Two - Manning Road to Puce Road
With an investment of more than $52 million for improvements to this section of the highway, construction has been completed. Improvements included:
- widening Highway 401 from four to six lanes to reduce congestion;
- installing a concrete median barrier to enhance safety;
- improving the Manning Road and Puce Road interchanges to increase safety and traffic flow;
- adding a new service road and commuter parking lot at the Manning Road interchange; and
- completing six structure rehabilitations, two structure replacements and one interchange improvement.
Phase Three - Highway 77 to Essex Road 27
With an investment of more than $61 million, work has been completed. Improvements included:
- widening Highway 401 from four to six lanes to reduce congestion;
- installing a concrete median barrier to enhance safety;
- replacing the St. Joachim Road (French Line Road) Bridge, rebuilding the ramps and adding lighting at the interchange;
- rehabilitating and widening the Ruscom River Bridge;
- rehabilitating two underpass structures; and
- upgrading the Windsor South truck inspection station to a commercial vehicle inspection facility.
Phase Four - Highway 3 to Manning Road
With an investment of more than $100 million, work has begun and is expected to be complete in 2010. Improvements include:
- widening Highway 401 from four to six lanes to reduce congestion;
- installing a concrete median barrier to enhance safety;
- replacing the railway bridges on the Dougall Parkway, Walker Road and Provincial Road;
- rehabilitating five underpass structures; and
- upgrading high mast lighting.
Phase Five - Puce Road to Essex Road 27
Work will begin this spring and is expected to be complete in the fall of 2009. Improvements will include:
- widening Highway 401 from four to six lanes to reduce congestion;
- installing a concrete median barrier to enhance safety;
- rehabilitating the Maidstone Township Road 3 and the Rochester Township Road 2 underpasses;
- replacing the Belle River Road overpass;
- widening and rehabilitating the Belle River Bridge and the Duck Creek Bridge;
- repairing the Big Creek Bridge
- making interchange improvements; and
- adding a new commuter parking lot at the Belle River Road interchange.
Phases one to three were funded through the Canada-Ontario Strategic Highway Infrastructure Program, a joint federal-provincial funding program for transportation infrastructure improvements in Ontario.
Through the Border Infrastructure Fund, the Government of Canada and the Province of Ontario are undertaking the construction of phases four and five.
These projects will help improve the safety, efficiency and capacity of this important trade corridor, which leads to the busiest commercial land border crossing in North America.
May 2008
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ONTARIO-QUEBEC CONTINENTAL GATEWAY AND TRADE CORRIDOR
Ontario and Quebec are vital contributors to the Canadian economy representing approximately 60 percent of Canada's exports and gross domestic product. In 2006, total exports originating from Ontario and Quebec reached a value of $272 billion, while their combined Gross Domestic Product was $840 billion.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Canada, Ontario and Quebec establishes the framework for federal-provincial collaboration to develop the Ontario-Quebec Continental Gateway and Trade Corridor in partnership with the private and public sectors. The main objective of this MOU is to establish this commercial gateway and trade corridor as a strategic, integrated and globally competitive transportation system that better supports the movement of international trade.
Under the action plan outlined in the MOU, over the next 24 months, governments and private sector partners will share information and gather data to better understand international trade and transportation patterns. They will also explore ways to optimize the connections between air, marine, road and rail transportation to better meet current and future demands in transportation. The outcome of the partners' collaboration will guide future multimodal infrastructure and non-infrastructure strategies, projects and investments to further improve the Ontario-Quebec Continental Gateway and Trade Corridor.
Private sector stakeholders will be engaged on many fronts to help ensure a successful Ontario-Quebec Continental Gateway and Trade Corridor.
The governance structure also establishes two advisory committees - the Private Sector Advisory Committee and the Public Sector Advisory Committee. The Private Sector Advisory committee will bring together the views of both shippers and transportation providers from all modes involved in international commerce, as well as the views of other key gateway and trade stakeholders.
Together we will develop an Ontario-Quebec continental gateway and trade corridor strategy with recommendations on infrastructure investments, policy and regulatory measures to improve Canada's competitiveness in the global economy.
For more information on the Ontario-Quebec Continental Gateway, please visit www.continentalgateway.ca.
May 2008
