Upgrades to the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel Canadian Plaza were jointly funded by the Governments of Canada and Ontario under the Let's Get Windsor-Essex Moving (LGWEM) strategy, a $300-million commitment by the two governments to improve efficiency and reduce congestion on the Ontario approaches to the Windsor-Detroit border crossings. Funding for this strategy came from the Canada-Ontario Border Infrastructure Fund.
The goal of the LGWEM strategy was to address the short- to medium-term concerns at existing border crossings in Windsor and Essex County prior to the completion of a new publicly-owned bridge between Windsor and Detroit and the Rt. Hon. Herb Gray Parkway. The projects under this strategy are improving efficiency and reducing congestion in the local road network.
Projects announced under the LGWEM strategy in 2004 include:
- a pedestrian overpass over Huron Church Road south of Tecumseh Road;
- intersection improvements on Highway 3 at Walker Road and Outer Drive;
- intersection improvements to Huron Church Road at Industrial Drive;
- improvements to County Road 19 north of County Road 22 to the VIA Rail Line;
- Intelligent Transportation Systems projects including cameras, changeable message signs, and portable message systems;
- an Environmental Assessment and Preliminary Design Study to identify improvements to Essex County Road 19;
- road-rail grade separations on Walker Road and Howard Avenue at the CPR tracks;
- improvements to the Detroit-Windsor Truck Ferry facilities;
- improvements to County Road 22;
- improvements to Highway 401; and
- improvements to the Canadian plaza of the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel.
Additional projects announced under the LGWEM strategy in 2010 include:
- planning and environmental study of improvements to Lauzon Parkway from Essex County Road 42 to Highway 3; and
- detail design and construction of upgrades to Walker Road between Division Road and E.C. Row Expressway.
January 2015
