In October 2011, “the Michigan Senate rejected a bill that would have allowed the state to accept $550 million from the Canadian government to fund the country`s share of the new international trade passage.” [52] One commentator, Bill Mann, noted the rejection, saying, “Canada calls the new bridge its highest infrastructure priority and has even offered to pay for the span. But the pesky policy of U.S. special interests is once again invading” as he examined a series of “U.S. government measures (and inactions) that show little interest in Canadian concerns.” Mann was referring to macleans` article subtitled “We Were Friends”[53] about U.S.-Canada relations after the Keystone pipeline, the bridge, and other “offensive” decisions. [54] [55] “Our commitment to the environmental, sustainable and social components of the project will bring long-term benefits to communities on both sides of the border,” said Aaron Epstein, CEO of Bridging North America. “Our environmental, social and governance policies play an important role in delivering on our work, priorities and commitments, providing significant opportunities and improvements to the Windsor-Detroit area as we implement this unique project.” “What they`re essentially doing is they`re looking at the work done by the private sector partner to make sure it`s consistent with the project agreement that we`ve signed,” said Mark Butler, a spokesman for the WDBA. Contractors bidding for the Gordie Howe Bridge Project Require More Time Forward-Looking Statements: All statements contained in this press release, other than statements of historical fact, are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of federal and state securities laws, including future conditions of the project, the backlog and financial and economic impact of the Gordie Howe International Bridge contract and other future projects. Conditions. Actual results may differ materially from those projected or assumed in our forward-looking statements. Important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements can be found in AECOM`s Periodic Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2018 and in other filings with the United States. Securities and Exchange Commission.
AECOM does not intend and assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. In late 2010, David Bradley, president of the Ontario Trucking Association, proposed to name the bridge in honour of Canadian professional ice hockey player Gordie Howe, who played most of his career for the Detroit Red Wings. The nomination was supported by a number of Canadian politicians, as well as Howe`s son, Marty, who felt the name would have been symbolic of his coming from Canada to spend his NHL career in Detroit. [66] [68] On May 14, 2015, at an event attended by then Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, it was officially announced that the bridge would be known as the Gordie Howe International Bridge. [69] Howe, 87 years old and in poor health, did not attend the ceremony. Later, when his son asked him what he thought of the name, Howe remarked, “Sounds pretty good to me.” [70] Howe died a year later, on June 10, 2016. [71] [72] On July 5, 2018, it was announced that the North American transition consortium had been appointed as the developer of the project. [34] The consortium consisted of AECOM for planning; Dragados Canada, Fluor and Aecon for construction; and ACS Infrastructure, Fluor and Aecon for “the operation and maintenance of the bridge and two entry points”. [35] On September 28, 2018, it was announced that the project would cost C$3.8 billion and be completed by the end of 2024. [36] Snyder said it was “not crazy” to call the Bridge the Detroit River International Crossing Bridge, noting that “DRIC” should only be the name of the commission sponsoring the bridge, not the bridge itself. Concerns were also raised that the short name was too close to that of the Detroit International Bridge Company (DIBC) – which would be too sensitive given their objections to the project. [66] Some time later, the project`s working name became New International Trade Crossing (NITC) and received support from 139 organizations and individuals.
[67] As NITC, the project was approved by the U.S. Department of State on April 12, 2013. [22] Butler added that the WDBA has spent $350 million on preparatory work so far, but that the agreement with Parsons is the first contract for the “design-build” phase of the bridge. The Gordie Howe International Bridge project includes a bridge and border crossing that spans the Detroit River and connects Detroit, Michigan, United States, and Windsor, Ontario, Canada, connecting Interstate 75 and Interstate 96 in Michigan with the new extension of Highway 401 (Rt. Hon. Herb Gray Parkway) in Ontario. The project began in 2004 as the Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC) and received permits in 2007 and 2008,[14] and Ontario began construction of the Windsor-Essex Parkway in 2011. The highway, renamed Herb Gray Drive in December 2012,[15] was completed in November 2015,[4] although the replacement of several carriers delayed the completion of the parkway. [16] The delay had no impact on the timing of the bridge project. The bridge is expected to generate billions of dollars in toll revenue over its 125-year lifespan and enable the efficient movement of trillions of dollars of bilateral trade. The new six-lane bridge over the Detroit River between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan, is part of a new end-to-end transportation network that includes associated border checkpoints and connections to the Ontario and Michigan highway networks. This project will provide a significant additional crossing option in one of the busiest Canada-U.S.
commercial border crossings. Through the Bridging North America Consortium, AECOM designed the longest cable-stayed bridge in North America Michigan Governor Rick Snyder supported the construction of the new intersection during his first State address on January 19, 2011. His plan would use Canadian money to secure a 160 per cent deal — a total of $2.2 billion — for funding from the Federal Highway Administration in a deal reached the week before the speech. [50] In August 2011, Michigan Senator Mike Kowall answered the Windsor Star`s question about whether the enabling legislation for the bridge was being passed: “Absolutely not.” [51] “We are very pleased that they are taking the next step,” he said. “This is certainly an important step and when you are on your knees in a project of this complexity and nature, you sometimes forget to take a step back and..
