July 3, 2009

MTO and Infrastructure Ontario issue RFQ for Windsor-Essex Parkway

TORONTO

The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure Ontario have released a request for qualifications (RFQ) to pre-qualify and shortlist teams to design, build, finance and maintain the proposed Windsor-Essex Parkway.

The RFQ is the first step in the procurement process to select a team to design, build, finance and maintain The Windsor-Essex Parkway.

The Windsor-Essex Parkway will connect Highway 401 to a new Canadian inspection plaza, a new international crossing over the Detroit River, U.S. plaza and to Interstate 75 in Michigan. The Windsor-Essex Parkway is the single largest highway investment in Ontario’s history. It will create thousands of project-related jobs, take trucks off local roads, and allow for the free flow of traffic in the Windsor-Detroit Gateway.

The Windsor-Essex Parkway will include community and environmental features, such as: 300 acres of green space, 20 kilometres of recreational trails, extensive landscaping throughout the corridor and noise and environmental mitigation measures.

The Windsor-Essex Parkway will be owned and operated by the government and will not be a toll road.

The location of The Windsor-Essex Parkway was identified through extensive public consultation and study as part of an Environmental Assessment process by the Ontario and Canadian governments. A final decision under the Ontario Environmental Assessment Act and Canadian Environmental Assessment Act is expected later this summer.

RFQ submissions will be evaluated to pre-qualify project teams with the design, construction and maintenance capability and experience, the qualified personnel and the financial strength to deliver a project of this size and complexity. The short-listed teams will be invited to respond to a request for proposals (RFP), should the required approvals under the Ontario Environmental Assessment Act and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act be granted.

Infrastructure Ontario and the Ministry of Transportation are working together to develop The Windsor-Essex Parkway, which will remain publicly owned, publicly controlled and publicly accountable.

Infrastructure Ontario is responsible for managing the province’s larger and more complex infrastructure renewal projects.

DCN News Services

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