TORONTO (May 23, 2003) — The Federal and Ontario Provincial governments have unveiled a $325 million dollar package to improve infrastructure and efficiency at three out of four of the province’s busiest border crossings with the U.S.

While the Ontario Trucking Association has been lobbying for such improvements for years, the package doesn’t include any investment at the Windsor, Ont./Detroit crossing, which is the busiest between the two countries. The OTA said it is continuing to work with both governments to come up with a separate package that will ease congestion at the crossing, which bridges about 25 per cent of all Canada-U.S. trade. However, the association claims a “combination of local politics, self interest and competing border crossing schemes has made this issue a political quagmire.”

About 10,000 trucks per day converge on Huron Church Road and secondary arteries in Windsor, creating a bottleneck that constricts trade flows, and puts severe strain on infrastructure. Congestion has only worsened from heightened cargo and driver scrutiny by U.S. officials since Sept. 11.

The OTA did applaud the commitments to the other crossings, adding that, in conjunction with new processing programs like Free and Secure Trade (FAST), the project will improve the operation of Ontario’s crossings and reduce wait times for trucks seeking access to the U.S.

The package includes:

— The construction of new lanes at the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge on Highway 405 and on the bridge, for commercial traffic registered in a pre-clearance program, such as the FAST program.

— The Peace Bridge in Fort Erie will see security and technology enhancements, upgrades to the commercial vehicle processing centre, and relocation of toll booths from the U.S. to Canada in order to free up space on the congested U.S. side. In addition, existing customs and immigration facilities will also be relocated.

— The QEW will be widened to six lanes from Mountain Road in Niagara Falls to west of Glendale Avenue in Niagara-on-the-Lake. It will also be widened to six lanes between Highway 406 and the Garden City Skyway Bridge through St Catharines.

— The plan includes the investment of $110 million to improve access to the Blue Water Bridge in Sarnia by adding a dedicated lane on highway 402 for drivers registered in pre-clearance programs. Twenty kilometers of the highway will also be upgraded and rebuilt. In addition, Highway 401 near London will be expanded to six lanes and improvements will be made to the 401/Wellington Road interchange.