WINDSOR, Ont. — In an effort to better understand the bedrock stability at the site of a new bridge over the Detroit River, the governments of Canada and Ontario have started a foundations investigations study.

The foundations investigations are part of the continuing Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC) study being carried out by the Border Transportation Partnership. The partnership, representing the governments of Canada, the US, Ontario and Michigan, is moving forward to improve traffic flow and trade movement at the Windsor-Detroit border.

“The Government of Canada is committed to the development of additional border capacity at the Windsor gateway, Canadas premier trade corridor,” said the Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities. “This work is a critical component of the environmental assessment and of our planning process currently underway to determine the location of a new Windsor-Detroit border crossing. A new crossing would make a positive contribution to economic stability and growth for the region, and for Canada as a whole.

“Ontarios families rely on the safe and efficient flow of goods through the Windsor-Detroit border,” Cansfield continued. This project is just one of several studies currently taking place in Windsor as part of the DRIC study that will lead to the identification of a new end-to-end border transportation system within the Windsor-Detroit gateway by mid-2007.”

The first part of the foundations investigations includes the drilling of 12 boreholes, up to 500 metres in depth, at specified locations along Practical Alternative Crossing B and C alignments. The drilling of boreholes is not proposed along Practical Alternative Crossing A, as this alignment is sufficiently removed from areas of solution mining.

Drilling operations have been divided into three separate tenders with a total value of approximately $5.4 million. Davidson Drilling of Waterloo, Ont., will drill two cored boreholes, one in each of the Practical Alternative Crossing B and C alignments. Bradco Drilling of Merlin, Ont., is the contractor on the remaining two tenders for five rotary drilled boreholes each. The drilling operations are just a portion of the foundations investigations study.

The second part of these investigations includes detailed documentation of the boreholes by geophysical and direct physical observation methods. This will allow for the identification of similarities and differences between boreholes, as well as the imaging of individual soil layers.

Impacts to the local community will be mitigated through the use of noise baffling devices on drill rigs, restrictions on the hours of drilling, restrictions on drilling-related truck traffic from various local streets and provisions to minimize dust.

The foundations investigations began with drilling preparation in early August. Drilling-related activities will run from September to December and the second part of the investigations program will take place from December to February. Preliminary results from the foundations investigations will be presented at public information open houses in December.