An end to a thorny issue is close at hand concerning who will fund construction of a border customs plaza on the US side of a planned bridge linking Canada and the United States.
US President Barack Obama’s US$4-trillion budget did not set aside any money for the plaza for a second consecutive year, further irritating Canadian officials who are overseeing construction of the bridge.
It appears that the Canadian government might end up footing the entire bill, according to a report in Toronto’s Globe and Mail newspaper.
The Globe report said vehicle tolls, which will be collected on the Canadian side, will be used to pay the $198-million it will cost for the plaza on the US side. The bridge will cross the Detroit River, linking the city of Detroit in the US state of Michigan and the Canadian city of Windsor in the province of Ontario.
Another suggestion has been the U.S. port of entry plaza to be part of the project’s expected public-private partnership contract.
Canadian government officials have been meeting with US federal government officials as well as government officials from Michigan to hammer out an agreement on who pays for the plaza in the face of US insistence that it should be the Canadians.
The project includes four main components: a six-lane bridge, a Canadian toll and border inspection plaza, a U.S. plaza for border inspection and finally a feeder road and interchange with Detroit’s I-75 highway.
The Globe reported that details are being finalised and a formal announcement is expected in March, likely by the Canadian government’s not-for-profit organisation the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority.
The WDBA, set up in July 2014, is responsible for building the new bridge that is likely to cost more than $2 billion. But the entire cost of the Detroit River International Crossing project, including access roads, customs plazas and other infrastructure is expected to be around $4 billion.
The Detroit Free Press newspaper reported that last month the WDBA had awarded a significant engineering contract worth $17 million to3220 Parsons to serve as the general engineering consultant for the project, which is known in the US New International Trade Crossing.
Much preconstruction work remains, including land acquisition in Detroit's Delray neighbourhood. Despite this, and the spat over who pays for the US plaza, WDBA has assured the construction and business community on both sides of the border that the bridge will be built on time.
Already one bridge and a tunnel link the two countries across the Detroit River, and which carry as much as $120 billion of Canadian and US goods annually.
US President Barack Obama’s US$4-trillion budget did not set aside any money for the plaza for a second consecutive year, further irritating Canadian officials who are overseeing construction of the bridge.
It appears that the Canadian government might end up footing the entire bill, according to a report in Toronto’s Globe and Mail newspaper.
The Globe report said vehicle tolls, which will be collected on the Canadian side, will be used to pay the $198-million it will cost for the plaza on the US side. The bridge will cross the Detroit River, linking the city of Detroit in the US state of Michigan and the Canadian city of Windsor in the province of Ontario.
Another suggestion has been the U.S. port of entry plaza to be part of the project’s expected public-private partnership contract.
Canadian government officials have been meeting with US federal government officials as well as government officials from Michigan to hammer out an agreement on who pays for the plaza in the face of US insistence that it should be the Canadians.
The project includes four main components: a six-lane bridge, a Canadian toll and border inspection plaza, a U.S. plaza for border inspection and finally a feeder road and interchange with Detroit’s I-75 highway.
The Globe reported that details are being finalised and a formal announcement is expected in March, likely by the Canadian government’s not-for-profit organisation the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority.
The WDBA, set up in July 2014, is responsible for building the new bridge that is likely to cost more than $2 billion. But the entire cost of the Detroit River International Crossing project, including access roads, customs plazas and other infrastructure is expected to be around $4 billion.
The Detroit Free Press newspaper reported that last month the WDBA had awarded a significant engineering contract worth $17 million to
Much preconstruction work remains, including land acquisition in Detroit's Delray neighbourhood. Despite this, and the spat over who pays for the US plaza, WDBA has assured the construction and business community on both sides of the border that the bridge will be built on time.
Already one bridge and a tunnel link the two countries across the Detroit River, and which carry as much as $120 billion of Canadian and US goods annually.
