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Status Report on Major Crown/Transformational Projects

This table applies to all major Crown projects and transformational projects in accordance with Treasury Board policies. Please see the policy on Management of Major Crown Projects and the Policy on the Management of Projects.

Detroit River Crossing

Description

The Canada-U.S. Bi-National Transportation Partnership is planning the new Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC). The partnership is composed of:

• Transport Canada;
• the U.S. Federal Highway Administration;
• the Ontario Ministry of Transportation; and
• the Michigan Department of Transportation.

The project is a U.S.-Canadian, I-75 to Highway 401, end-to-end solution consisting of five components: a new international crossing; the Canadian customs plaza; the U.S. border inspection plaza; the interchange between the U.S. bridge/plaza and Interstate 75; and the highway connector between the Canadian bridge/plaza and Highway 401. It is the partnership’s intention to seek a public-private partnership (P3) for the bridge and plaza portion of the project.

Bridge

The new Detroit River crossing will be a six-lane bridge that will provide three Canada-bound lanes and three U.S.-bound lanes. The new crossing will accommodate future travel demand, both in terms of meeting capacity and providing flexibility to stream traffic on the crossing to improve border processing (e.g., dedicated nexus/Fast lanes).

The new crossing will be constructed to link inspection plazas on the Canadian and U.S. sides of the Detroit River, and will be a key component of the new end-to-end transportation system that will link the existing Highway 401 to the U.S. Interstate system. The crossing will consist of a main bridge that will span the width of the Detroit River and is designed to provide navigational clearances that meet U.S. and Canadian requirements. It will also include approaches to the main bridge that will connect to plazas in both Canada and the United States.

Selection of the bridge type will be made during subsequent design phases of this project. Neither bridge type requires piers to be placed in the Detroit River.

Customs Plaza

In Canada, border inspection plaza alternatives were developed in consideration of the need to provide improved border processing facilities to meet future travel demand and security requirements at the border crossing. The new plaza will be designed to serve future (2035 and beyond) travel demands at the border crossing. Initial construction of the plaza may not include the fully developed plaza, as the plaza may be developed in stages. The initial construction of the plaza will be such that future expansion will be possible by way of constructing additional inspection or toll booths.

The plaza was developed in consultation with the Canada Border Services Agency and provides sufficient area for primary inspection lane booths and on-site secondary inspection of people and goods. The plaza alternative also allows for dedicated nexus and Fast lanes, and provides for substantial improvement of border crossing processing capabilities.

The plaza will be situated within the Brighton Beach Industrial Park, bounded by the Detroit River, Chappus Street, Ojibway Parkway and Broadway Street. The plaza includes a total area of 202 acres (72.8 hectares); a total of 29 inbound inspection lanes; a total of 103 secondary inspection parking spaces for commercial vehicles; nine toll collection lanes; and storm water management features to control the quality and quantity of run-off rain water.

Ontario Access Road

The new access road will be a controlled access highway connection approximately 11 kilometres long located between the Border Services plaza and the provincial highway network. The connection is a six-lane urban freeway with interchanges, grade separations, road closings and service roads. The connection includes a combination of below-grade, at-grade and above-grade segments, and 11 short-tunnelled (or covered) sections. The width of the right of way varies and, where possible, existing rights of way will be used. Along the corridor, the maximum width of the new right of way, not including the existing right of way, is approximately 300 metres.

Ontario is responsible for the delivery of the Windsor-Essex Parkway that will connect Highway 401 with the new border inspection plaza and bridge. The province concluded financial close of the concession agreement in December 2010 with the consortium that will construct the new highway.

The Government of Canada in Budget 2007 committed to funding up to 50 percent of eligible capital costs of the project, and Budget 2011 capped the potential contribution at a maximum of $1 billion. Transport Canada is reviewing the project business and is expected to conclude a contribution agreement with Ontario in 2011.

Rationale for the Project

The Windsor-Detroit crossing is the busiest land border crossing in North America.

• It accounts for $130 billion (2006 Canadian dollars) of two-way surface trade.
• It accounts for 28 percent of total Canada-U.S. trade.
• It consists of four crossings: the Windsor-Detroit tunnel, the Ambassador Bridge, the truck ferry and the Canadian Pacific Railway tunnel.
• The Ambassador Bridge alone handles 99 percent of Windsor-Detroit truck traffic.
• In recent years, there have been increased traffic delays due to heightened security checks at the U.S.-Canada border. Inefficiencies at the border crossing directly affect costs, thus affecting Canadian and U.S. companies’ ability to compete internationally.
• Traffic is expected to increase over the next 30 years: truck traffic is expected to triple and vehicle traffic to double.

Project Phase

Environmental assessments were approved for the project on both sides of the border in 2009. The Province of Ontario reached financial close in December 2010 with the private-sector concessionaire that will construct the new highway connecting to the new bridge. Some construction work has already started and more got underway in the summer of 2011.

Leading and Participating Departments and Agencies

Lead Department	Transport Canada
Contracting Authority	Deloitte
Participating Departments	Canada Border Services Agency, Public Works and Government Services Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Environment Canada

Prime and Major Subcontractor(s)

Prime Contractor	Deloitte 181 Bay Street, Suite 1100, Toronto ON M5J 2V1 Direct 416-643-8382 | Fax 416-601-6690
Major Subcontractor(s)	Investment Grade Traffic & Revenue Forecast Wilbur Smith Associates 9500 Arboretum, Suite 360, Austin, TX, U.S.A., 78759 Cost Consultant Davis Langdon 1717 Arch Street, Suite 3720, Philadelphia, PA, U.S.A., 19103 Bridge Technical Advisor Delcan 625 Cochrane Drive, Suite 500, Markham ON L3R 9R9

Major Milestones

Major Milestone	Date
1. An environmental assessment was launched with 15 options considered.	February 2005
2. Options were narrowed to three potential crossing locations, three potential plaza locations and five potential access road designs.	March 2006
3. The technically preferred Ontario access road was announced.	May 1, 2008
4. The technically and environmentally preferred alternative for the crossing and plaza locations was announced.	June 18, 2008
5. The U.S. Final Environmental Impact Statement was published for final comment.	December 5, 2008
6. The final Ontario Environmental Assessment Report was submitted to the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Final Screening Report was submitted to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency.	December 31, 2008
7. The U.S. Record of Decision was made public.	January 14, 2009
8. Ontario’s environmental assessment was approved.	August 24, 2009
9. The federal environmental assessment was approved.	December 3, 2009
10. Financial close was reached for the Windsor-Essex Parkway.	December 17, 2010

Project Outcomes

The project is designed to achieve the following substantive goals:

• provide a new border crossing capacity to meet increased long-term international trade and travel demand;
• improve system connectivity to enhance the continuous flow of people and goods;
• improve operations and processing capabilities at the border;
• provide alternative and secure crossing options (i.e., network redundancy) to mitigate the risk of any disruptions or blockages of crossing facilities in the region; and
• ensure the Canadian and U.S. economies, and all users of the new bridge will benefit from the Detroit River International Crossing.

Progress Report and Explanations of Variances

Project Approvals

• Approval and necessary authorities were provided in December 2006 to continue advancing the development of a new Detroit River crossing for the Windsor-Detroit Corridor.
• The March 2007 federal budget supported the development of a new Detroit River crossing for the Windsor-Detroit Corridor and provided $10 million over three years for this purpose.
• The Detroit River International Crossing project has been identified as a major Crown project, as the total value exceeds the $100-million threshold. The entire project cost for Canada was estimated at $2.01 billion. Preliminary project approval was sought to provide authorization to expend resources to fully define the Detroit River International Crossing Project.
• Approval to continue to advance the development of a new Detroit River crossing for the Windsor-Detroit Corridor was provided in December 2007.
• Budget 2010 provided $10 million to cover expenses that will be incurred as the project moves from the planning to implementation phase.

Property Acquisition

In June 2009, expenditure authority approvals were provided for Phase I implementation of the Detroit River Crossing major Crown project for the acquisition and implementation of infrastructure projects related to the first of two groups of properties, for the Canadian half of the new international bridge and its Canadian customs plaza, at a substantive cost of $60.9 million, inclusive of GST of $2.9 million.

To date, Transport Canada has acquired 80 percent of the properties it requires for the Canadian customs plaza. By the fall of 2011, Transport Canada will have acquired all of the individual properties, with only six industrial properties remaining. Transport Canada continues to negotiate with the remaining property owners to acquire the needed land as expeditiously as possible.

Project Progress

In 2009, the project received the requisite environmental approvals in both countries. Future progress on the new crossing is being threatened by multiple legal and trade challenges, as well as the uncertainty of project approval by the Michigan legislature.

Project implementation in Michigan is contingent on authorizing state legislation that was tabled for discussion in the Michigan Senate in June 2011. Due to Michigan’s financial situation and to enable the legislation to be passed, Canada has committed to covering the costs for project components in Michigan that would not be funded by the private sector or the United States government, up to a maximum of U.S.$550 million. This is not a loan, but increased equity in the project. The Government of Canada would expect repayment from the anticipated toll revenues to be generated from the operation of the new bridge.

Industrial Benefits

The investment in new border infrastructure will result in a number of positive economic impacts. Recently conducted studies concluded that the direct and indirect (e.g., materials, equipment, services, etc.) impacts of the entire border infrastructure project will lead to the creation of approximately 23,000 jobs, including approximately 13,000 direct and 10,000 indirect employment opportunities. This is particularly noteworthy in that Statistics Canada has reported that the Windsor-Essex region has one of the highest unemployment rates in Canada. Ancillary benefits of these jobs are expected to result in increases in consumer spending, as personal income and company profits in the region improve.

Transportation

• The vast majority, 62 percent, of Canadian and U.S. bilateral trade crosses our shared border by land. Each day, almost 36,000 trucks cross the Canada-U.S. border, close to one-third (12,000) of those at Windsor-Detroit. This project will not only improve the efficiency of the border crossing in the region, but will also provide direct highway connections, thereby reducing costs associated with shipping, and lowering emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants from idling vehicles.
• Over the next 30 years, trade between Canada and the U.S. is projected to increase. Under high-growth scenarios, cross-border traffic demand could exceed the capacity of the present border crossings in the Detroit River area as early as 2015.

Economy

• Given the significant interdependency of the Canadian and American economies, there is nothing more important to exporters and importers on both sides of the border than being able to ensure that traffic at the border flows efficiently and that the international supply chain remains strong.
• Businesses from coast to coast in Canada and the United States depend on a reliable and secure transportation network. Manufacturing production depends heavily on the fast and predictable trucking of components, parts and finished products across the border, particularly between Windsor and Detroit.
• It is estimated that the direct and indirect impact of the entire border infrastructure project on the province’s gross domestic product (GDP) will be $1.6 billion. Additionally, using Ontario’s two-thirds attribution ratio, it is expected that approximately 15,000 total jobs will be created in the Windsor-Essex region, while contributing an estimated $587 million to the GDP of the Windsor-Essex region.

Security

• The binational partnership is working with border inspection agencies in both countries to ensure that the proposed border processing facilities meet future travel demand and their security requirements at the border crossing. The plazas will be designed to serve future (2035 and beyond) travel demands. These new plazas are being developed in consultation with the Canada Border Services Agency and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection Branch, to provide sufficient areas for primary inspection-lane booths and on-site secondary inspection of people and goods. The plaza designs will allow for dedicated Nexus and Fast lanes, and will provide for substantial improvement of border processing capabilities, including areas for permanent gamma ray inspection equipment.
• With almost $2 billion (Canadian dollars) daily in cross-border trade with the United States, keeping the trade system open and flowing efficiently is critical to ensuring both countries’ economic prosperity. It is equally critical to protect the border against potential threats to our health, security and economy. Redundant infrastructure will help keep the border open in case of incidents at other crossings.

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