WINDSOR, Ont. (Jan. 24, 2005) — A New York traffic expert is proposing a cargo route overhaul in Windsor as well as a brand new “Industrial Corridor Bridge” crossing just west of the Ambassador Bridge by 2015.

“Gridlock” Sam Schwartz — one of the world’s most prominent transportation engineers who’s been credited for inventing the term “gridlock” — unveiled his long-awaited $1 million report to the media and public Friday night at the Chrysler Theatre in Windsor, Ont. He was retained by the city last year to evaluate alternative river crossing proposals as well as deliver a recommendation on how to relive Huron Church Rd. and surrounding streets of truck traffic.

Most experts believe that the Ambassador Bridge is nearing capacity and a new river crossing or improvements to current links are essential over the next 10 years. Schwartz says the bridge is still able to handle the volume when all its lanes are functioning, but is at the point “when any one mistake (by a vehicle) will cause the entire queue to gel up.”
Moreover, by 2017 the Ambassador will enter “an unstable zone” and will far exceed capacity by 2023. “Folks, you need a new bridge,” Schwartz announced to the packed theatre.

“Fifty years ago they made a mistake when they ended (Hwy. 401) 11km away from the river,” he said. “This situation is really unprecedented in my experience and my travels. But tonight we don’t hem and haw. We don’t say it needs more studying. We’ve studied enough. Now it’s time to act.”

Schwartz — who was profiled in an exclusive interview published in the Dec. 2004 issue of Today’s Trucking — largely dismissed, for various reasons, all three major proposals vying for consideration. They include:

Twinning of the Ambassador Bridge where a second, four-lane, span would be build adjacent to the existing bridge; the Detroit River Tunnel Partnership plan, which proposes to convert the underwater rail corridor into a dedicated two-way truck tunnel from Hwy. 401 to the I-75 in Detroit; and the Mich-Can bridge proposal, which would see a brand new bridge 3 km southwest of the Ambassador Bridge via Lauzon Parkway and E.C. row Expressway.

The Ambassador twinning proposal and DRTP project had their attributes, says Schwartz. But in the end, the obstacles associated with them were not as surmountable as those of the Industrial Corridor Bridge/Talbot Rd. routing alternative.

The twinning would have impacted several private areas, including the Sandwich community and the university, and would not have added any redundancy in the event of a crash. The DRTP, according to Schwartz, would be difficult and expensive to link directly to the 401. But more importantly, he says, it would have limited capacity for 2030, and creates a “cattle chute” situation if a single vehicle were to be immobilized. “This would be the least attractive option for truckers,” he said. “Any trucker who got
stuck (in the tunnel) would remember that experience for next time.”

Schwartz backed Mich-Can’s option of a new “central” bridge on the opposite end of Riverside Dr., but the one-time N.Y. cabbie turned city traffic commissioner scrapped all of that proposal’s routing blueprints. Instead of the original plan, which would have routed bridge traffic on E.C. Row from the 401 via a Lauzon Parkway connection, Schwartz mapped an entirely new design straddling the border between Windsor and
Lasalle.

His plan would lead trucks off the 401 to Talbot Rd, where trucks would be separated from residential property and traffic by utilizing “context sensitive design” — a depressed (and tunneled in parts) four-lane road for trucks that would split the existing north and southbound Talbot Rd. traffic. All international trucks, and voluntary local traffic, would then bypass Huron Church via a “horseshoe” route to the west through mostly vacant woodland. Ojibway Parkway would than carry the traffic north, through a city-owned industrial area, to the new central crossing. FAST trucks would have their own dedicated
lane all the way to the bridge.

On this final stretch, Schwartz proposes a new Customs processing centre and a Brighton Beach traffic queue control centre, which would use state-of-the art ITS technology to meter traffic flow to the bridge. He also suggested a new ferry terminal that could take
excess trucks across the river before they reach the bridge.

This new route, Schwartz insisted, should not be contingent on a bilateral bridge agreement. In the meantime, his plan calls for immediate construction of a fast-track option for the Talbot-Ojibway bypass as part as the $300 million Windsor/Essex Moving Strategy announced last year by the provincial and federal governments. The fast-track horseshoe route would send traffic back east on E.C. Row to Huron Church en route to the Ambassador Bridge.

Schwartz’s presentation didn’t stop there. He said the project should include a massive shipping overhaul for the entire city — including improved rail infrastructure, high-clearance double-stacked container capacity for the tunnel, and a new intermodal staging hub at the Windsor Airport.

The $1.5 billion project (including bridge) was enthusiastically received by Windsor City Council and Mayor Eddie Francis, who will now take the plan to the provincial and federal governments for funding.

While many alternative crossing proposals have been tied up with bureaucratic gridlock, there hasn’t been one to date that has received as much considerable media and public attention, as well as overwhelming support from city and environmental officials. It’s also being backed by some of the largest industry groups like the Ontario Trucking Association and Canadian Automotive Partnership Council.

“We applaud the report by Sam Schwartz, CAPC chair and DaimlerChrysler Canada President Mark Norman said in a release. “The recommendations will allow the Let’s Get
Windsor/Essex Moving Strategy to move to Phase II with improvements to major traffic arteries.”

— Marco Beghetto, Today’s Trucking senior editor