Do not allow the new crossing to become a Windsor bypass

Seize opportunity, write Anderson and Tannous.

Driving the full length of the recently opened Herb Gray Parkway, Windsor-Essex residents discovered that infrastructure dreams really do come true.

Another dream that is looking more like reality is the Gordie Howe International Bridge, the long-sought second Detroit River crossing. When it opens in 2020, it will connect with the Herb Gray Parkway to provide the link that has been needed for decades at Canada’s most important border crossing.

These two interrelated mega-projects have been a boon to the Windsor-Essex economy. Coming at a time when the region needed an economic stimulus, they keep construction workers on the job, port facilities humming and a host of local firms enjoying the spinoff effects.

New infrastructure, coupled with reforms under the Canada-U.S. Beyond the Border initiative, will transform the Detroit River crossing. In another five years, it will be possible to complete the trip from Highway 401 to the I-75 and beyond without a single stop light. (With a quick passage, we hope, through the world’s most advanced border inspection facility.)

But when construction activity winds down, the natural question will be, what’s next?

We believe the best is yet to come — but only if we make it come. We need to take steps now to realize the full potential of this project.

Transportation infrastructure projects on this scale alter the economic geography of a place; they are the building blocks that spur economic growth.

In effect, they bring the region closer to markets and opportunities, expanding it’s economic potential and enhancing it’s competitive position.

For example, with the completion of both projects, properties along the 401 as far out as Manning Road will effectively be on the border, providing attractive sites for industries engaged in Canada-U.S. trade.

More broadly, a better Detroit River crossing reinforces the position of Southwest Ontario and Southeast Michigan as the binational pivot of the Great Lakes Region.

New transportation infrastructure cannot make economic development happen. Development happens when people take hold of the possibilities and create new enterprises.

In the complex process of economic development, a variety of actors have to work together: entrepreneurs, investors, planners, public servants and many more.

It will take the entire Windsor-Essex community to transform those projects into a lasting economic legacy.

The process must begin with serious analysis. What are the economic activities that can best take advantage of the enhanced accessibility to the U.S. market? What types of sites do they need? What utilities, amenities and above all what workforce skills do they need?

Finding answers to these questions will take data analysis and consultation with a variety of experts, the business community and the general public.

The Cross-Border Institute has already started the data crunching, but input from the whole community is needed.

Once the most likely opportunities are identified, it will be necessary to spot the gaps between their requirements and our regional resources — and then work to fill them.

Where additional infrastructure is needed we can call on a new federal government that is committed to advancing the economy by building infrastructure and by working co-operatively with the Government of Ontario.

Where zoning changes, permits and new bylaws are needed, we hope to have the support of councils in Windsor and all of our regional municipalities.

Where new workforce skills are needed, St. Clair College, the University of Windsor and various educational institutions can work together to fill this gap.

In Toronto, we’ve heard some people refer to our parkway-bridge project as “the Windsor bypass.” If that characterization turns out to be correct, we will have missed a historic opportunity.

Early in 2016, the Institute for Border Logistics and Security and the University of Windsor’s Cross-Border Institute will be kicking off a series of stakeholder engagement meetings and workshops to get the ball rolling.