May 1, 2008

Government announces plans for $1.6-billion Windsor-Essex Parkway

WINDSOR

The $1.6-billion access road linking Highway 401 with a new international bridge to be built in Windsor is being considered the most significant highway investment in Ontario’s history.

Construction will start next year on the 12-kilometre stretch of six-lane highway, which will run through Windsor and neighbouring Tecumseh and LaSalle. The access road will be known as the Windsor-Essex Parkway. This highway investment will be five times more expensive per kilometre than any highway previously built in Ontario.

“Today’s announcement provides one more critical step towards meeting the timelines required to get the new international crossing operational in 2013, a deadline we cannot afford to miss,” says Len Crispino, President and CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce. “The Windsor-Essex Parkway is the right solution to enable us to move forward quickly on this matter of national and international urgency.”

The Detroit River International Crossing Group (DRIC) says the five-year construction plan is expected to create about 12,000 construction-related jobs, two-thirds of them in Windsor. The plan still must pass an environmental assessment before final approval.

The presented plan is the technically and environmentally preferred option, states DRIC. The new highway will include six lanes, below-grade truck traffic with 11 tunnels and service roads. There are no traffic signals and it reported it will reduce noise and keep truck traffic out of sight.

The parkway will also create 240 acres of parkland and 20 kms of recreational trails. Highway 401 currently stops about 12 kilometres short of the border with Detroit, forcing trucks onto city streets and slowing down international trade.

“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,” says Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities in a press release.

The exact location of the new international bridge to be built at the Windsor-Detroit crossing is yet to be determined.

Secure but efficient trade and tourism are vital to the continued prosperity of our country, and to our relations with our largest trading partner, adds Crispino.

– DCN News Services

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