Ontario Moves Ahead With DRIC Construction Projects

UNCLAS TORONTO 000018 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DOT/FHWA, EPA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETRD KHLS PGOV CA SUBJECT: Ontario Moves Ahead With DRIC Construction Projects REF: 09 TORONTO 209 ¶1. (SBU) Following the December 3, 2009 approval of the federal environmental assessment by the GOC, Ontario moved ahead with the province's portion of the Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC) that will expand the busiest trade corridor between the United States and Canada. On December 29, Infrastructure Ontario and the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) released a request for proposals (RFP) inviting companies short-listed to design, build, finance, and maintain the 7-mile-long border crossing access road to submit formal construction proposals. There are no specific domestic content requirements. However, successful teams had to demonstrate the ability to partner with local contractors. ¶2. (SBU) In June 2009, Infrastructure Ontario and the Ontario Ministry of Transportation began pre-qualifying teams to design, build, finance and maintain The Windsor-Essex Parkway project. The submission process for the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) was open to any firm, and the RFP bid process is limited to the three firms short-listed through the RFQ process. The three finalists, Rose City Parkway Group, Windsor Essex Parkway Group, and Windsor-Essex Transportation Partners have roughly six months to prepare and submit their proposals. ¶3. (SBU) The RFQ process ranked proposals from bidding firms based on their approach to partnering, design, construction, and maintenance, as well as their financing abilities to ensure completion of the project. There were no restrictions on foreign content. The successful team will be announced in late 2010. Initial construction of the Parkway began in December 2009 with the building of a new noise barrier and two bridges for the Parkway by a local contractor. Full construction of the Parkway is scheduled to begin in 2011. JOHNSON