Detroit-Windsor border update: a bi-national study recommends a new border-crossing point to relieve traffic congestion.

As the saying goes, "There's good news and bad news." The good news is that the Detroit Region benefits enormously from having good connections to Canada, its No. 1 world trade partner, by way of the Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit-Windsor tunnel. The bad news is that these crossings have reached a point that congestion, of trucks in particular, has become a major problem on each side of the border.

In 2001, 23 percent of the total surface trade between Canada and the United States ($347 billion) crossed the border between Detroit and Windsor. This amounted to $300 million trucked each weekday across the Ambassador Bridge in both directions.

The four governmental entities responsible for surface transportation across the border between Southwest Ontario and Southeast Michigan--Transport Canada, the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, the U.S. Federal Highway Administration and the Michigan Department of Transportation--created a Bi-National Partnership to jointly fund and oversee a study to determine if, when and where a new crossing is needed and, if so, to define the type of crossing, i.e., bridge or tunnel, and the number of lanes that will be required to support traffic in 2030 and beyond (see page 22 for details).

In the first phase of the bi-national study, all modes of surface transportation were evaluated, including marine, rail and transit. While these latter modes can provide border-crossing capacity, none can provide enough capacity to put off the need for a new roadway crossing.

The initial feasibility study concluded that at least four additional lanes for roadway traffic will be needed by 2030 and that six lanes should be constructed to accommodate traffic through at least 2050. It also said the crossing should be built as quickly as possible within the constraints of the laws and regulations of the two nations. And, while there may be some debate as to just when the existing roadway system will reach a level of congestion so critical that cross-border travel will be unacceptably slow, especially for trucks, there is no disagreement that dependence upon two crossings, each 70 years old, is unwise. The need for another crossing is further accentuated when issues other than congestion, like safety and security, are considered.

The first phase of the Bi-National Study identified five corridors where crossings between Detroit/Wayne County and Windsor/Essex County could be built. Each of them will be associated with some impacts on the environment, as well as residential and business dislocations. The next phase of the Bi-National Study will evaluate these issues.

Likewise, the four government agencies involved in the Bi-National Study are reviewing the construction and operations options for a new or expanded crossing. Whether it would be public, private or a combination of both is a decision that will have a bearing on the study's outcome.

It is likely that a new crossing recommended by the study will be operating by 2012 or before. The exception to this timetable is the proposed conversion of an existing pair of rail tunnels into two, single-lane truck crossings coupled with the construction of a new and better rail tunnel. This, it is estimated, could be available in about five years.

In the meantime, there are a number of opportunities to address the near-term congestion-causing issues:

* The Ambassador Bridge Gateway Project to improve the U.S. connection between the bridge and I-75.

* Increased education and use of the NEXUS and FAST processing systems.

* Traffic management through temporary turning restrictions and lane closures during peak periods to reduce congestion on local streets accessing the border crossings.

* Additional border processing staff and facilities.

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Timeframes by which travel demand is anticipated to meet capacity on the Ambassador Bridge Corridor:

U.S. Interstate connections  At or near capacity beyond 30 years
U.S. border processing       At or near capacity within 5 years
Ambassador Bridge            At or near capacity within 10-15 years
Canadian border processing   At or near capacity within 5 years
Huron Church Road            Current congestion; At or
                             near capacity within 5 years
Highway 401 (6 lanes)        At or near capacity beyond 30 years

Timeframes by which travel demand is anticipated to meet capacity in the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel Corridor:

Downtown Detroit road        At or near capacity within 5 years
connections to tunnel plaza
U.S. border processing       At or near capacity within 5 years
Detroit-Windsor Tunnel       At or near capacity within 10-15 years
Canada border processing     At or near capacity within 15-20 years
Downtown Windsor road        At or near capacity within 5 years
connections to tunnel plaza

This article was prepared by Patrick R. Holland and Joe C. Corradino of The Corradino Group Inc., Len Kozachuk of URS Canada Inc. and David Wresinski of the Michigan Department of Transportation.