28 September 2004

U.S.-Canada bridge kicks off improvements

The following article is excerpted from “The Journal of Commerce” edition of 27 September 2004.

The second-busiest truck crossing between the United States and Canada is upgrading its facilities.

Initial contracts to rebuild the Canadian plaza and approaches of the Blue Water Bridge connecting Port Huron, Mich., and Point Edward, Ontario, went out Sept. 17, part of a five-year plan to improve infrastructure around the twin spans, ….

A final plan for a US$225-$300 million plaza rebuilding on the U.S. side is to be announced this fall. Morris Hall, operations manager for the Blue Water Bridges for the Michigan Department of Transport, said construction could begin … "in five to seven years."

The improvements are planned even as officials say the near 900-foot, six-lane bridge -- which opened a second span in 1997 - can handle double the 3,500-4,000 trucks and 6,000-plus cars that roar across each day.

The bridge connects with the U.S. Midwest down to the Gulf of Mexico, leading straight to interstate highways 94 and 69, and also runs directly into Ontario's major arteries leading to Toronto, Montreal and the U.S. east and northeast. Blue Water is only 60 miles upriver from the Detroit-Windsor Ambassador Bridge, by far the busiest commercial crossing at 3,259,744 trucks in 2003 compared with Blue Water's 1,725,603, but it has been taking traffic from that region.

While all Canada-U.S. truck traffic dropped 1.8 percent in 2003 from a year ago -- part of an overall drop since Sept. 11, 2001 -- Blue Water's traffic rose 2.55 percent. Even as the Ambassador's truck traffic slumped 2.58 percent in the first half of this year, the number of trucks using Blue Water crossing increase 5.6 percent year-over-year.

A five-year, $57 million plan for the Canadian side will eliminate stop signs and straighten curved approaches while separating truck and car traffic. A new complex for a dozen border agencies and departments, including Customs, will also be built, and more inspection lanes added to the 18 now in service.

Several proposals are being considered to expand facilities on the U.S. side, a cramped 14-acre complex elevated "on 26 feet of sand," Hall said. These in include the purchase of some 80 properties at the foot of the bridge, or the development of a 100-acre "greenfield" site two miles away. Hall said a final alternative would be chosen this fall.

Blue Water is still the only U.S.-Canada border crossing to have a dedicated express clearance lane moving trucks through in as fast as 20-30 seconds.