29
CANADIAN INDUSTRY ONLINE - FEBRUARY/MARCH 2014
•
Parkway
•
recruiting labour and subcontractors
from the local area.
The Ministry of Transportation is
the owner of the Parkway and Infra-
structure Ontario is the project manag-
er for the contract. The two organiza-
tions (IO and MTO) oversee, monitor
and assess the works delivered by the
private sector partner ensuring com-
pliance with the contract project agree-
ment and adherence with highway
construction and safety standards. The
contract with the partner is perfor-
mance-based.
Infrastructure Ontario is a pro-
vincial crown agency. Its mandate is
to procure large infrastructure projects
using the alternative financing and
procurement delivery model and to
administer the Project Agreement dur-
ing construction and operation.
How was it determined that this
particular design was right for the
communities involved?
MTO:
The Rt. Hon. Herb Gray
Parkway is the result of detailed tech-
nical studies conducted over three
years through the Detroit River Inter-
national Crossing (DRIC) study. The
study began in 2004 with a Planning/
Need and Feasibility study and contin-
ued into the Canadian/Ontario Envi-
ronmental Assessment. Following the
identification of the Area of Continued
Analysis through the Highway 401/
Highway 3 corridor, the team complet-
ed detailed technical studies on five
access road Practical Alternatives, orig-
inally presented in March 2006 (two
at-grade, an end-to-end tunnel, and
two below-grade) and the Parkway
alternative presented in August 2007.
The assessment was based on seven
major factors – air quality, community
and neighbourhood impacts, land use
impacts, cultural resources impacts,
natural resources impacts, regional
mobility, and cost and constructability.
In addition, the study team conducted
extensive community consultation on
these alternatives at over 300 meet-
ings with thousands of Windsor-Essex
County residents, community groups,
experts, local elected officials and other
government agencies. The Parkway
was presented in May 2008 for public
input and approved by Canada and
Ontario in 2009.
What are the key problems
solved by the Parkway’s completion?
MTO:
Windsor-Detroit is Cana-
da’s busiest land border crossing and
carries nearly one third of trade. The
end-to-end transportation infrastruc-
ture solution that includes the Park-
way will for the first time link High-
way 401 directly to the U.S. interstate
system allowing international trade
to flow safely and efficiently through
Canada’s premier trade gateway.
Additionally, the study in Wind-
sor-Essex was directly aimed at im
HERB GRAY PARKWAY
