WINDSOR, Ont. — The province’s planned Windsor Essex Parkway will be taken on by Crown corporation Infrastructure Ontario, which could look to the private sector to finance, construct or maintain the truck route to a new border crossing at Brighton Beach.

According to the Windsor Star, a public-private partnership (P3) could begin engaging construction consortiums as soon as the spring.

The federal government has already declared that it is seeking a similar arrangement to build the new bridge crossing.

NDP Windsor West MP Brian Masse — a vocal opponent of private interests controlling vital border infrastructure (including the privately-owned Ambassador Bridge) — predicted that an international consortium in charge of the road could bring in tolls.

What this means for the City of Windsor’s preferred GreenLink plan remains to be seen. That design offers 60 percent more tunneling and green space throughout a six-lane, below grade highway and has been given better marks by city officials and environmentalists.

Mayor Eddie Francis has said in the past, including in interviews with Today’s Trucking, that the city could attempt to sue the province and its Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC) study team if it didn’t more seriously consider GreenLink over the Parkway plan.

According to Infrastructure Ontario, the P3 project will benefit the public sector in transferring risk to the private sector.