WINDSOR, Ont. — After years of legal, environmental and territorial debate, the long-awaited truck bypass road to a new international bridge between Windsor and Detroit is getting built.

According to The Windsor Star, preliminary work will begin this fall on a $1.6-billion Windsor-Essex Parkway. 

Local MPPs Dwight Duncan and Sandra made the announcement in Windsor yesterday.

The Parkway, formally approved by the government-backed Detroit River International Crossing team last year, calls for 11 short tunnels and overpasses over 1.8 km along the Huron Church-Talbot Road corridor — about a quarter of the total route.

The first phase of construction will include building two overpass bridges, a two-kilometre sound barrier wall and utility relocation.

The bulk of the work, including the Parkway itself, will not begin before 2011 at the earliest. A private investor is still being sought to help finance and build the roadway and bridge.

With Windsor at the "epicenter" of the North American recession, the time is now to get construction underway and create jobs, said Duncan.

While it appeared a few weeks ago that the City of Windsor might finally give in to accepting the DRIC Parkway, more than a few councilors are seemingly still holding tough of the city’s preferred alternate roadway plans.

The city has spent millions promoting its so-called GreenLink plan over the DRIC Parkway. That project offers to tunnel 60 percent of the below-grade route over 4 km and includes more green park areas. 

Council, led by Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis, had been threatening judicial review of the DRIC process for choosing the roadway. 

The Star reports that council will continue to discuss pursuing that as an option.

Meanwhile, Francis, who did not attend the provincial announcement, told the newspaper that he plans to meet with Duncan and Pupatello face-to-face to see if any changes can be made to the parkway plan.