Hurdles to clear before any bridge work starts
Contractor vows to get going on truck plaza, city says other issues must be dealt with first
With the unveiling this week of a $50-million tender awarded Windsor contractor TCI Titan Contracting, the Ambassador Bridge company vows to get going — possibly in a month — on construction of a new truck inspection plaza for its twin-span project. But city officials said Thursday there is still much to be done before any bridge work in Windsor can actually be launched given the multitude of permit requirements and utility relocations required first. “It’s fair to say we are at the beginning stages of the process,” said city chief administrative officer Onorio Colucci.
“We have had planning meetings (with bridge officials) but nothing substantive. We are quite a ways away from fulfilling requirements as it pertains (to the federal government permit).” Transport Canada six months ago, when it issued a permit to allow for a twin span, provided a checklist of requirements the bridge company must fulfil before any construction can begin. Among them was providing concrete plans for a demolition of the existing span, construction of a new fire hall on Windsor’s west end and acquiring a section of Huron Church Road from the city. “Where is their plan for all this?” said local MP Brian Masse (NDP — Windsor-West) who issued a letter Thursday to federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau demanding answers.
“There is chaos out there.” Transport Canada said in an email “specific conditions must be met before construction of the replacement bridge can begin.” “The Canadian Transit Company has not yet provided Transport Canada officials with documentation confirming they have met these pre-construction conditions,” said ministry spokeswoman Annie Joannette.
City of Windsor officials detailed a list of things still to be completed before any bridge company construction can begin.
All abandoned water lines, sewers and gas lines that once serviced former residences in the Indian Road and Mill Street district where the bridge company plans to build its new 9.5-acre truck inspection plaza have to be removed first from the ground, said city chief building official John Revell.
Under the approved twin-span plan, a section of Huron Church Road that travels under the current bridge must be obtained from the city, shifted and reconstructed. Discussions to build a new fire hall on the west end have only just started, Revell said. Preliminary meetings have been held with bridge officials that have “so far been a good experience,” Revell said.
Colucci listed two comprehensive planning meetings, plus a couple “side meetings” with various departments as having taken place to date with officials from the bridge company. But any talk of bridge construction starting in Windsor in a month “is not realistic in our view,” Colucci said. “Everyone is co-operating, but we are in the very early stages of the process,” he said. “There are matters related to city infrastructure that need to be resolved.”
Should the bridge company attempt to launch construction without proper permits, “we will deal with issues as they come about,” said Colucci.
He added, however, that “we have been working in a spirit of co-operation and hope that continues.” Bridge officials did not respond Thursday to messages from the Star, but the president of Titan Contracting — retained by Ambassador Bridge owner Matty Moroun — indicated his firm will start construction in about a month if all permissions are in place. Titan has been hired to build a new truck inspection plaza just west of the current bridge exit in Windsor, construct a new two-storey, 60,000-square-foot Canada Border Services Agency secondary inspection building on site, new inspection booths, handle all utility relocation, plus create a greenspace buffer between the new plaza and nearby homes. “Our goal is to complete everything in two years from start to finish,” said Art Ussoletti, president of Titan Contracting. “It’s aggressive, but that’s the goal everybody is trying to work towards.” His company has been busy lining up construction workers and skilled trades people to get the plaza project off the ground, he said. Ussoletti expects anywhere from 500 to 1,000 workers will at some point be on site working on the bridge plaza project.
He believes the utility relocation can occur simultaneous to construction getting started on the new truck inspection plaza and that’s why his company can start work in a month.
“I think the Morouns have made it clear they want to work with the city on whatever needs to be done and get things going,” Ussoletti said.
None of the work for which his company has been retained includes actual construction of a new span across the Detroit River. The Moroun family has proposed building a new six-lane bridge across the Detroit River just metres west of the existing 88-yearold four-lane crossing. Securing final permission last fall from Transport Canada — the final major permit required — was a shock to many local residents since the Canadian government has been heavily involved in building its own nearby international border span — the Gordie Howe International Bridge.
“It’s an exciting time to be a Windsorite and we are proud to be involved in helping the Ambassador Bridge put its best forward,” Ussoletti said.