Some of the boarded up houses owned by the Ambassador Bridge are about to be demolished.
Part of the order from the federal government allowing construction of a replacement span for the bridge includes the houses.
It is clear that the bridge company must tear down the houses in a prescribed area.
Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens says because the senior level of government has issued the order, the city must comply.
He says city councillors will see details of what will happen on Monday.
"There will be a notification to council, there's nothing the council can do in Windsor to stop these homes from being torn down" says Dilkens "It's an order issued by the federal government and based on the order from the federal government the Ambassador Bridge must tear down these homes"
He says the demolition can't be done without appropriate care, they have to get locates from Enwin and the other locate companies to make sure they're not going to tear up and create a safety risk with respect to utilities.
Excavator next to boarded up house beside the Ambassador Bridge (by AM800's Peter Langille)
Dilkens says the only option the city has to legally delay the demolition is a judicial review of the order, which he has been told has no chance of being successful.
"The decision by the federal government was completely within their mandate and their jurisdiction and they're the ones who ultimately have the responsibility for the homes being torn down" says Dilkens.
He adds there are still homes outside of the boundaries in the order and the legal battle to prevent their demolition will continue.
The order designates 40 homes in the area bounded by Indian Road to the west, Wyandotte Street to the south and University to the north will be torn down as well as the old Villa Maria building.