The City of Windsor is asking the Ontario government to consider funding in its 2023 budget for a cloverleaf interchange linking an expanded Lauzon Parkway with Highway 401, as a way to open up more land for development.
The City of Windsor is asking the Ontario government to consider funding in its 2023 budget for a cloverleaf interchange linking an expanded Lauzon Parkway with Highway 401.
During a provincial 2023 pre-budget consultation stop in Windsor on Monday, Mayor Drew Dilkens asked the province to set aside funding to begin the process of developing a cloverleaf interchange.
The City already has an approved Environmental Assessment for the extension of Lauzon Parkway to the 401, and is exploring what will need to be done to service vacant lands in that area know as Sandwich South, as a way to open up more land for development.
Dilkens told the consultation committee, "the City of Windsor would need to find the capital funds to undertake the extension of Lauzon Parkway, as well as the water and wastewater infrastructure to fully service the Sandwich South land assembly. This would represent a capital investment well north of $100-million on the part of municipal taxpayers. To fully maximize the value of that investment, we would need assurance that the Province would complete the highway interchange in tandem with our construction activities."
Dilkens says the province owns the 401, so any connection requires them to build it or be involved.
"The question really is that simple, do you want this region to be prepared for future economic success? Or are you willing to let all that development and growth occur in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, or somewhere else further up the 401? I'm not to content to watch the opportunities here before us, or the ones that are coming, locate somewhere else," he says.
The land in question, south of Windsor Airport, is near the site of the planned Windsor-Essex Acute Care Hospital at County Road 42 and the 9th Concession and it is directly south of the $5-billion NextStar EV battery plant location.
The City of Windsor is asking the Ontario government to consider funding in its 2023 budget for a cloverleaf interchange linking an expanded Lauzon Parkway with Highway 401. Jan. 23, 2023 (Image courtesy of the City of Windsor)
Dilkens says opportunity is in front of us now.
"So we need to act now because it we had another opportunity come to us, and someone was looking for land a third of the size of the battery factor, we would not have that land ready and available to go right now. That is a deficiency that we have to resolve as a region," he says.
Dilkens points out this is not a $1-million project, it's a $100-million project and it's all about working together.
"It isn't just about throwing the battle in the provincial court, saying 'hey we have some ideas we would like you to fund.' We want to be significantly involved in this as well, because we will be the ones, as a city, we will be the ones to realize the benefits of this vis-a-vis property taxes and and growth in the community," he says.
Dilkens also told the pre-budget consultation that "unlocking the Sandwich South lands will produce significant economic dividends by marketing new greenfield lands for investment attraction with direct access to the 401 and the new Gordie Howe International Bridge. "