FACING TRAFFIC:
BY JOE NOLAN
WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE AMERICAN BORDER, most eyes turn south, down towards states like Arizona and Texas, and the line that separates them from our Mexican neighbors. When our neighbors to the north come to mind, one usually conjures images of the border in a Western state like Montana or that perennial honeymooners destination, Niagara Falls that New York shares with Canada.
However, the most unique spot on the U.S. border might be that place on the Detroit River where Motown connects to Windsor, Ontario via the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel and the Ambassador Bridge. Currently, nearly 25% of Canadian/American trade passes between Windsor and Detroit at this point making this the busiest border crossing on the continent of North America in terms of trade volume, and marking one of the biggest bi-lateral trade partnerships on the globe. With new plans to upgrade and revamp the border-
crossing, be prepared to hear a lot more about that location in the months – and years – to come. Get ready for reports that focus on careful confidence, tempered by plenty of contradictions and controversy.
THE PLAN Te $950 million New International Trade Crossing Bridge (NITC) will connect Detroit and Windsor with an infrastructure makeover that proponents of the project are already saying could be one of the most impactful as far as international trade is concerned. Te project aims to improve business opportunities on both the Canadian and American side of the bridge as through better transportation facilitated by a state-of-the-art, publicly operated border crossing.
20 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2014 WIRE ROPE EXCHANGE Te bridge is intended to be a bi-national construction
project between the U.S. and Canada between the Interstate 75 on the Detroit side and the currently-being- built, Rt. Hon. Herb Gray Parkway, on the Windsor side. Te parkway will lead to the new bridge and it’s where the NITC story really begins. Te Rt. Hon. Herb Gray Parkway stretches over 11 kilometers and includes three main components: A six-lane below-grade freeway that will extend Highway 401 in Windsor; a four lane at-grade service road network which will be added on to Highway 3 in Windsor; and 300 acres of green spaces that will encompass 20 kilometers of bike and walking trails, ecological restorations sites and thousands of new, native trees and vegetation. When it’s finished, the parkway will facilitate secure and efficient movement of people, goods and services to and from a proposed new Canadian inspection plaza and the NITC Bridge. Te project will aim to separate local traffic from international traffic and eliminate stop-and-go clustering in residential areas. Construction on the project began in 2011. Since then
the parkway has generated approximately 12,000 jobs, created business opportunities, attracted investors and supported existing industry on the Canadian side of the
BUILDING THE NEW INTERNATIONAL TRADE CROSSING
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