New Ambassador Bridge Needs Demolition Approval
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After years of battling to build a new span, 2017 saw the Ambassador Bridge Company get approval to move forward with a new six-lane bridge.
That approval came with some conditions — demolition permits for the existing 87-year-old landmark must be obtained before construction of the new span begins.
Director of Canadian Government Relations Stan Korosec tells AM800 News that condition is a catch-22.
The original plan was to rehabilitate the old bridge and keep it for special events and emergency vehicles — but at this point Korosec says the company just wants to get work underway on a new span.
The US government is the only roadblock for the demolition permit, and that's something Korosec says needs to be worked out on a political level.
"Our environmental assessment, and our Coast Guard permit agreement with the Advisory Committee on Historical Preservation require us to maintain and preserve the existing Ambassador Bridge," he says. "That's something the two countries are going to have to talk about, we just want to build a new bridge, and let them argue about whether the bridge stays up, or stays down."
Mark Spowart/The Canadian Press
That hasn't stopped some work from moving forward, according Korosec.
After a drawn out legal battle that strained relations between the City of Windsor and the bridge company, demolition of derelict homes on Indian Rd. are now moving forward.
Homes on the east-side of Indian Rd. from University Ave. to Wyandotte St. W have already been torn down — the second phase from Wyandotte St. to Mill St. will come down in the new year.
"The contractors are doing a great job, we're working with the city [of Windsor] and the utilities to make sure that everything is being done properly, preserving any areas that will require some archeological work to be done," says Korosec.
The new span is set to go up just west of the current structure but, after significant artifacts were found during the construction of the Sandwich St. roundabout, Korosec says plans are already in place to preserve any finds when construction ramps up.
"We've engaged with the Walpole Island First Nation, we're working on an agreement with them to do proper stage-four archeological down there," he says. "We're looking forward to that happening and we are expecting there will be some significant finds."
Korosec says every department is hard at work on the project but, until the demolition permits are granted in the US, there's no firm start date on the $1-billion crossing.