Roads: Ambassador & Gordie Howe Bridges

[ericmacm]

Do the feds really want the Ambassador to be torn down and replaced with a new bridge? Aren't they essentially saying that if a new bridge goes up, the old one must come down? That policy doesn't necessarily mean they want the old one demolished. It could just be that they don't want an abandoned bridge next to the new one or that they don't want two large bridges at that location indefinitely.

When the Canadian government approved the new span, the conditions for approval specifically referred to the new Ambassador as a replacement span. The federal government believes that the bridge needs to be replaced, as per an investigation by Transport Canada that determined severe structural deficiencies. The City of Windsor wants a replacement span for the community benefits incentives (green space and landscaping around the new bridge) and road realignments, but also wants the old span torn down because there were issues with chunks of concrete from the deck falling onto the roadways below. There is nothing they can do but continue forcing repairs if the Ambassador Bridge company doesn't want to build a new bridge though, obviously. However, it is greatly beneficial for the Canadian side if a new bridge is built and the old span is ripped down, in terms of safety and community incentives benefits. A bridge is not the best from an urban fabric standpoint, but creating a new span will pay off in significant community improvements that Windsor would not financially be able to do on its own.

What the Ambassador Bridge company wants to do is keep both spans active with the old span receiving a heritage designation, which is in line with what Michigan desires and was a condition for their approval process. The Ambassador is undergoing a retrofit to "extend its lifespan" by 75 years, but are still pushing to build the new bridge regardless of this. The US and Canada have been figuring this disagreement of "demolition vs presevation" out for the past few years, and unfortunately, there does not appear to be any indication of further movement on resolving this. It is currently unclear if Matty Moroun's death will impact this too. His son will likely take over, and it's hard to tell what direction he will want to take with the bridge.

 

[Bojaxs]

Just make the Ambassador bridge unprofitable once the Gordie Howe is up and running. Either the Ambassador Bridge gets torn down, or the federal government should tax the hell out of it if it wants to keep operating in Canada.

 

[gweed123]

Just make the Ambassador bridge unprofitable once the Gordie Howe is up and running. Either the Ambassador Bridge gets torn down, or the federal government should tax the hell out of it if it wants to keep operating in Canada.

That could be a tricky position though. Once the Gordie Howe Bridge opens, the Government of Canada will in essence be competing with the Ambassador Bridge for toll revenue. Any moves by the government to make it harder for the Ambassador Bridge to turn a profit (such as an increase in taxes) could be met with a lawsuit.

 

[lenaitch]

There is absolutely a precedent for government-owned international bridges. Almost all bridge-based border crossings, except for the Ambassador Bridge (and probably some more obscure crossings), are owned by either/both the US and CA governments. The entities that own the bridges are usually set up as crown corporations/federal agencies, and if they are jointly owned, have representatives for both countries as part of the executive boards.

In the case of the Ambassador, the government has made it clear where they stand - they want it ripped down. They recently issued approval for a new span of the Ambassador on the condition that the old bridge be ripped down within 5 years. If they bought or seized the company, and wanted to keep a bridge operating in that area, they could simply just build the new span and rip down the old one, since they've already issued approval, and all of the design work is purportedly complete.

I believe post 134 shows that most are not owned by the federal/provincial governments (cities are corporations). I was actually thinking of direct government ownership (and funded) as opposed to commissions and authorities that are enabled/authorized by government and that raise their own capital and operating funds, elect boards, etc.

Expropriation would be interesting. How does one expropriate something, half of which is in another country.

Edit: I see that NFBC has half the Board appointed by the Ontario government, so a partial concession by me. I didn't delve into the rest.

 

[drum118]

The Drone folks are needed to view the bridge work as there is no way to get close to the area to shoot it

Best to shoot the area is on the weekend.

Grading taking place from the plaza area to the bridge as well the plaza. The 401 lanes are completed.

No video, photographing or any type of recording allow on the construction site.

 

[Kitsune]

so ... a good telephotic lense is needed to shoot the bridge?

 

[drum118]

so ... a good telephotic lense is needed to shoot the bridge?

Nope.......too far out of view and behind the power plant. I have 300 lens and can't see a things. I can get a better shot of the US site that using a tower crane than our side.

 

[junctionist]

The Drone folks are needed to view the bridge work as there is no way to get close to the area to shoot it

Best to shoot the area is on the weekend.

Grading taking place from the plaza area to the bridge as well the plaza. The 401 lanes are completed.

No video, photographing or any type of recording allow on the construction site.

I suppose you could use a boat to get a better perspective as well.

 

[drum118]

I suppose you could use a boat to get a better perspective as well.

My original reply was going to be that I have no boat nor do I know of a place in Windsor to rent one until this Sunday afternoon.

The son-in-law and the daughter visited a boat store on Sat as the son-in-law wanted to find out what type of boat he would need to fish in Lake Erie.

In the end, they left the store as an owner of a 21 foot boat that can carry 6 people. The plan will see us take a trip from Lake Erie to Windsor to have a look of the bridge work next year.

It would still interesting to see some Drone shots of the area.

 

[alexb]

These updates are pretty informative and give some decent shots:

 

[drum118]

Oct 24
First hwy sign after clearing custom

US side and got a shot of the pier footing

There is a road running beside the area to get shots from, but the road is close by the power station that will take you to the footing.

The plaza area is level at this time and very large

Some more up on site

 

[H4F33Z]

^Curious to know why they don't allow filming or photos on the site?

 

[ShonTron]

^Curious to know why they don't allow filming or photos on the site?

That's general practice for any major construction site, though I am sure that security is tougher given the critical nature of this infrastructure.

 

[ericmacm]

^Curious to know why they don't allow filming or photos on the site?

It's no different than most big projects. One of the main reasons that construction sites don't allow photos (aside from the screened and curated photos used for PR purposes) is for liability, where they don't want a situation to arise with a worker potentially being caught on photo doing something unsafe. If something unsafe is ever caught on photo and the Ministry of Labour catches wind of it, they can issue citations to the owner of the construction site. Since this is a high-profile federal construction project, OH&S is at the forefront, and having a restriction on photography is just part of keeping everything properly managed and under control.

 

[Deadpool X]

Can they legally stop anyone from taking photos if the photos are being taken from outside of their property lines?