The Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority plans to pick a proponent to build, finance, operate and maintain the new Gordie Howe International Bridge in 18 months.
The bridge authority announced Thursday it had issued a request for proposals from three pre-qualified proponents, Bridging North America, CanAm Gateway Partners and Legacy Link Partners. The RFP was expected at the beginning of 2016.
The RFP is 4,000 pages long, and over the next year, the proponents will put together proposals to build either a cable-stayed bridge or a suspension bridge between Windsor and Detroit. Evaluating those proposals is expected to take another six months.
President and CEO Michael Cautillo says work on both sides of the border continues. The access road to the Canadian approach is being paved, and utility relocation is underway. On the American side, he says the authority continues to buy property and is preparing to relocate utilities.
Interim Chair of the WDBA's Board of Directors, Dwight Duncan says the bridge should reopen and start accepting traffic between Canada and the United States in early 2022.
Previous estimates for project completion were 2020.
As for the cost of the project, Duncan says the federal government has already invested $2-billion, but it's difficult to say how much more construction will cost without a chosen proposal.
"There are, of course, any number of variables that can impact on the eventual cost of the project," says Duncan. "We'll have a clearer sense of that at the conclusion of the financial close in approximately 18 months."
Cautillo says the proponents will calculate the cost and the federal government has committed to paying a portion. In the past, the total cost has been estimated at $4.8-billion.
Duncan says the accelerated period for proponents to come up with a design and costing has nothing to do with the condition of the Ambassador Bridge which was recently ordered to fix gaping holes in sidewalks over the crossing.
"You know, the desire on the part of all of us to get this bridge built and up and running," he says. "The formal process began in 2001."
The bridge authority also plans to host meetings on both sides of the border so business leaders can meet the proponents. Those are on November 30 and December 1.