A familiar face is stepping down as the chair of the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority.
Windsor native and a former Deputy Premier of Ontario, Dwight Duncan, is leaving his post after six years working on the Gordie Howe International Bridge project.
Duncan says it's been a wild ride.
"It's been just an absolute thrill to serve as chair of the board. We've had a lot of tough decisions since I first joined the board. We were able to get us to the point now where you can physically see the towers coming out of the ground," he says.
The former Windsor-Tecumseh MPP says work is just getting started.
"There's still a lot of pretty significant work ahead, but I'm confident that there are teams in place on both sides," he says. "The next two to three years are going to be probably the busiest and the most trying and I felt it was time, personally, for a change."
Towers being constructed for the Gordie Howe International Bridge on the Canadian side in west Windsor, Ont. (@GordieHoweBrg / Twitter)
Duncan says he'll look back at this time on the board with a smile.
"Every Prime Minister of Canada since {Jean} Chretien have played an important role in this. Every Governor of Michigan, every Premier of Ontario. Everything has gone well. There's always ups and downs, but mostly ups and the board of the WDBA is strong and ready to meet the challenges facing them in the next few years," he says.
There's no word yet as to who will replace Duncan as chair.
The $5.7-billion Gordie Howe International Bridge is expected to be completed by the end of 2024.
With files from Patty Handysides