U.S plaza of the bridge Ambassador Bridge
Canadian plaza of the bridge
Presented by:
Detroit International Bridge Company
Canadian Transit Company
March 27, 2010

Ambassador Bridge Central Crossing Corridor
Ambassador Bridge Central Corridor Crossing:
• International symbol - #1 international border crossing
• Accommodates more than 26% of the trade between Canada and the United States
• Constructed in 1929 with private funds
• Created by reciprocal legislation to meet the needs of commerce and trade by Canada, Great
Britain and the United States
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Ambassador Bridge Central Crossing Corridor
Located in the southeast Michigan and southwest
Ontario transportation corridor:
• Ambassador Bridge, Blue Water Bridges,
Windsor-Detroit Tunnel (3 vehicular crossings )
2 ferry services and 2 rail tunnels all serve the same pool of commercial and passenger traffic
• Existing traffic data at all vehicular crossings confirm declining trend in border crossing traffic
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3 Vehicular Border Crossings along Corridor
Blue Water Bridge
• located in Port Huron, MI / Sarnia , Ontario
• original bridge was 4 lanes
• second span was built in 1994 that created additional lanes
• capacity beyond 2030
Detroit-Windsor Tunnel
• located in Downtown Detroit, MI / Windsor, Ontario
• tunnel has (1) lane both ways
• backups common; limited commercial vehicles are allowed to use the tunnel
Ambassador Bridge
• located in Detroit, MI / Windsor, Ontario
• original bridge with 4 lanes
• plans for an replacement span underway
• replacement span provides 2 lanes each way to accommodate FAST and NEXUS
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Ambassador Bridge Central Crossing Corridor
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Located in the southeast Michigan and southwest
Ontario transportation corridor:
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Current economic state coupled with world recession means the downward trend in border crossing traffic is accelerating
Windsor-Detroit tunnel traffic down 50.4% since
1999 - 34.% decline in vehicles using the Ambassador
Bridge corridor since 1999
17.6% decline in traffic at the Blue Water Bridges since twinning in 2000
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Ambassador Bridge Central Crossing Corridor
Commercial and Passenger Traffic:
• 1965 – Auto Pact
• 1989 – Free Trade Agreement
• 1994 – NAFTA
• 1994 – Windsor Casino Temporary Location
• 1998 – Windsor Casino Permanent Location
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Ambassador Bridge Central Crossing Corridor
Traffic Levels:
• Traffic volumes lower today than in 1999
Total Traffic Ambassador Bridge:
• 1999 – 12,348,762
• 2001 – 11,057,495 (-10.5% since 1999)
• 2003 – 9,572,456 (-22.5% since 1999)
• 2005 – 9,295,824 (-24.7% since 1999)
• 2007 – 8,953,029 (-27.5% since 1999)
• 2009 – 6,471,999 (-47.6% since 1999)
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Ambassador Bridge Central Crossing Corridor
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Total Traffic Blue Water Bridges:
• 1999 – 5,537,827
• 2000 – 5,967,141
• 2001 – 5,678,702 (-4.6% since 2000)
• 2003 – 5,433,534 (-8.7% since 2000)
• 2005 – 5,509,311 (-7.4% since 2000)
• 2007 – 5,038,045 (-15.3% since 2000)
• 2009 – 4,474,566 (-24.8% since 2000)
July 1997, the second span opened for service and original span closed for renovations
November 1999, both spans operational
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Ambassador Bridge Central Crossing Corridor
Total Traffic Windsor – Detroit Tunnel:
• 1999 – 9,542,121
• 2001 – 7,682,190 (-19.2% since 1999)
• 2003 – 6,535,971 (-31.5% since 1999)
• 2005 – 5,922,830 (-37.9% since 1999)
• 2007 – 4,844,063 (-49.2% since 1999)
• 2009 – 3,948,982 (-58.6% since 1999)
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Ambassador Bridge – Gateway Project
• $230 million funded project on the U.S side of the border
• Gateway project is 75% completed
• Direct link of the
Ambassador Bridge corridor to U.S
interstate system
(I-75 / I-96 / I-94)
• Principle purpose of the AB Gateway
Project to accommodate future border crossing capacity needs and future second span of the Ambassador Bridge
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Ambassador Bridge – Gateway Project
Ambassador Bridge Gateway Environmental
Assessment:
• Resulted in the issuance of three FONSIs
(findings of no significant impact)
• Approved in 1997 and re-evaluated in 1999 and 2004
• FONSI had three objectives – one of those objectives was to accommodate the
Ambassador Bridge
Second Span
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Ambassador Bridge – Detroit Plaza
• New customs plaza constructed in the U.S. doubling inspection capacity
• Ambassador Bridge Gateway project makes
Detroit plaza as accessible as possible
• Both plazas sized to accommodate future traffic projections
• Replacement span provides the resource required to continue the flow of traffic with minimal impacts on the community
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Ambassador Bridge – Windsor Plaza
• Windsor plaza project expands existing facilities and capable of accommodating Replacement Span
• January 2006 – 3 new customs booths on
Windsor plaza completed
• 2008 – additional 6 new customs booths on Windsor plaza completed
• Total of 9 additional customs booths added to the
Windsor plaza
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Ambassador Bridge – Replacement Span
• Creates more than 20,000 jobs over the next two decades
• 4,000 jobs within the first year
• Entirely privately funded
• No municipal, provincial or federal funds required
• Immediate catalyst for economic growth in the Windsor-Detroit area
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Ambassador Bridge – Replacement Span
• Replacement of eighty (80) year old structure
• Use of existing roadways and new highway connections (Ambassador Bridge Gateway
Project)
• Cable-stayed design
• No piers in the Detroit River
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Ambassador Bridge – Replacement Span
Provides long-term solution for southeast Michigan and southwest Ontario transportation corridor:
• Significant environmentally sustainable feature includes
$60 million water reclamation and treatment facility
• Installation of a model intelligent transportation system to automate customs, toll collecting and other processes to facilitate international trade, as requested by the NAFTA
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Detroit River International Crossing
Failed to look take into consideration existing and expanded capacity:
• Blue Water Bridge plaza improvements
• Detroit-Windsor tunnel plaza improvements
• Windsor Truck Ferry improvements
• Detroit Intermodal Freight Terminal
• CP rail tunnel expansion to accommodate international containers
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Detroit River International Crossing
Declining traffic levels / economic climate:
•
DRIC relied on outdated traffic levels and declining trend throughout the corridor
• US Midwest manufacturing industry has fallen into a depression
• Effects of NAFTA absorbed
• Detroit has three casinos with additional casinos scheduled for construction in Ohio
• 2 of 3 automobile manufacturers went into bankruptcy
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Detroit River International Crossing
Redundancy not proper consideration:
• Location of DRIC bridge in Central Crossing
Corridor in proximity to the Ambassador
Bridge does not create redundancy
(Department of State conclusion)
• Any incident impacting the Ambassador Bridge would impact the DRIC bridge
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Detroit River International Crossing
Failure to consider “do nothing” alternative:
• Ambassador Bridge Gateway Project part of existing infrastructure and represents “do nothing” alternative
• Environmental and community impacts of
DRIC hidden from public scrutiny
• Information released by DRIC team indicating concern about the “ultimate cost of a new bridge, community disruption and how quickly it can be completed.”
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Detroit River International Crossing
Current infrastructure exceeds capacity needs:
• 2006 DRIC team acknowledges that traffic was decreasing to such an extent that a new crossing was no longer required
• Border delays attributed to customs’ requirements and heightened security post 9/11
• Failure of customs to man all existing inspection booths
• At any one time only ½ of the customs’ booths provided at the
Ambassador Bridge are operational due to lack of customs’ officers
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Detroit River International Crossing
Current infrastructure exceeds capacity needs:
• Legislative changes for customs processing at land border crossings
• Legislative changes will result in decreased crossing times for commercial shipments
• NEXUS / FAST pre-approved travelers
• Changes to border processing by Canadian and
US customs’ agencies not taken into account
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Detroit River International Crossing
Threatened or Endangered Species:
• DRIC bridge will negatively impact vegetation and numerous species (special concern, endangered and/or threatened)
• No consideration of precautionary principle in a manner that protects the environment and human health and prevents environmental degradation and loss of Ontario’s biological diversity
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Detroit River International Crossing
Environmental Effects outside of Canada:
• US DRIC plaza and bridge located in Delray community of Detroit
• Delray is a low-income, low-political influence, minority neighbourhood
• Delray population is 56% Hispanic and 86% minority
• DRIC bridge coupled with the DIFT results in destruction of Delray
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Detroit River International Crossing
Predetermined Conclusion:
• Lands purchased for DRIC plaza five months prior to Federal Screening Report being released for comment
• Failure to incorporate mitigation strategies
• Planning / Needs Feasibility Study completed outside of the public participation process
• Neglected to follow terms of reference – only differences between various alternatives assessed
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Ambassador Bridge – Replacement Span
• Use of existing infrastructure resulting in negligible to no impacts on natural environment
• All technical studies and information submitted to the federal government for review and approval in the form of an Environmental Impact Statement
• Studies and detailed information available at www.ambassadorbridge.com
or the Canadian
Environmental Assessment Registry at http://www.ceaa.gc.ca/050/index_e.cfm
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Questions & Answers