No. H009/06
For release - March 28, 2006

Border Transportation Partnership Announces Specific Options for Further Study for New Border Crossing in Windsor-Detroit

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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Ontario Ministry of Transportation is online at http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/.