Members of the community got a glimpse into some plans for the Gordie Howe International Bridge.
The Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority held an open house on both sides of the boarder Thursday night.
Residents were shown artist renderings of possible bridge and entry point designs.
Planned customs plaza layouts for the Gordie Howe International Bridge. (Photo courtesy of the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority)
Designers and consultants were also on hand to answer questions. Nearly 100 people stopped in at Mackenzie Hall Thursday night to enquire.
That's according to communications director Mark Butler.
He told AM800 News staff have fielded a wide variety of questions.
"When is the bridge going to get built? They have some more specific questions, like what are the job opportunities for the bridge? Can you tell us about some of the details on how the bridge is going to work? Will there be a Nexus lane," says Butler. "The questions are going right across the board. Certainly a lot of interest, people are getting excited about seeing the bridge well underway."
Butler can't estimate job numbers until tenders are finalized, but he says the winning bidder will definitely be drawing from Windsor-Essex.
"It's too their benefit to hire people locally, they know the local labour market, there's no relocation, and so forth," he says. "The Windsor-Essex area and the Detroit area have a huge knowledgeable workforce. There's going to be great opportunity for people on both sides of the boarder."
South Windsor resident Mark Abramson and his wife cross the border often. He says the plans look like they're going to improve their commute.
Planned layout of Canadian customs plaza for the Gordie Howe International Bridge. (Photo courtesy of Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority)
"My wife works in the states and we visit family pretty often," says Abramson. "It looks pretty impressive, the plazas are much larger than what we have right now, so there should be less back up."
Abramson spoke with several project members about everything from the new pedestrian crossing, to how many lanes the new bridge will have.
"It's good to know what's coming. It might be a little while, there's still land that they have to get in the US but it looks like it's progressing," he says.
Planned pedestrian path layouts for the Gordie Howe International Bridge. (Photo courtesy of the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority)
Public information meetings will be held on both sides of the boarder every three months according to Butler.
He says a decision will be made on who will build the bridge-plazas in a few months.