So hello, everybody. My name is Stephanie Kafo. I am the Senior Director of stakeholder and Community Relations for Windsor Detroit Bridge Authority. Thank you so much for joining us. Can you hear me in the back? Yes. Okay. Our translator has arrived. Is there anyone who would appreciate Spanish translation during the presentation or question period that follows. Okay, so thank you so much for joining us. This is our quarterly meeting for the month of December. We do hold these four times a year. Our next one will be in March, and our last one was in September. So today, we're just going to walk through what we've been doing since September and give you an idea of the activities that will be coming up. Over the next three months, we will be doing a question period following the end of the presentation. If you do have questions, there are common cards that were provided as you came in. And there's also some on the seats. So please write your question on the card. And once we open the floor to questions, a staff member will grab those and bring them up. And then we do have a number of experts from MDOT ridging, North America and WD VA here to answer any of your questions. So for those of you who may not be familiar with the project, when we're talking about the Gordie Howe International Bridge project, we're actually talking about four different components. So the bridge obviously gets all of the attention as it should. It's spectacular as you've been seeing it grow in height. However, there are three other components and this slide just provides renderings, so if you look at the upper right, that is the Michigan interchange, which connects I 75 into the port of entry. Right below that is the US port of entry. And then to the left is the Canadian port of entry. The bridge itself is a cable stay bridge, it will open with six lanes of traffic, three Canadian bound and three us with a clear span of about a half mile with no piers in the water. So when we talk about the clear span that is the part of the bridge that runs from tower to tower. In addition to that main span, there are two approach bridges on the either side connecting the bridge itself into the ports of entry, making the total length of the bridge 1.5 miles. Once it's open, it will be one of the longest cable stay bridges in North America. The two main bridge towers recently reached their full height and those are 720 feet high, which is roughly the same height as the middle tower of the Renaissance Center down in downtown Detroit. The bridge also includes a 11 foot multi use path for pedestrians and cyclists to use and the use of this path will be free for pedestrians and cyclists. So if you're driving a car across the bridge, you do have to pay, but if you're walking or riding your bike, it is free of charge. Together these four component components are extremely complex and significant in size and scale. And it makes the entire project one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects occurring in North America are currently NP construction, which will be running until through 2024. So at the heart of this project is a desire to provide a system of travel that makes it easy and seamless for travelers to get from point A to point B. The new transportation system addresses the need for efficient border processing capabilities, as well as highway to highway system connectivity, which will allow businesses and companies on both sides of the border to easily get their products to market and to ensure a robust supply chain. The goal is to create a travel corridor that uses technological advancements, and makes cross border travel simple and sustainable for all of our customers. A number of features have been built into the design of the bridge and ports of entry. To support this, these efforts, including or seamless border processing capabilities, system connectivity, and so on. The bridge will also include an extra wide lane to accommodate oversized vehicles and has integrated a paved shoulder to provide space for disabled trucks to pull over without affecting the flow of traffic. This will also provide the opportunity for potential expansion of traffic lanes if needed in future. So on opening day, the bridge will open with six lanes of traffic three in each direction. However, the The entire bridge can support eight lanes of traffic for in each direction. And I will note that once that expansion occurs, it does not affect the operation of the multi use path. That path will remain available for pedestrians and cyclists. To further reduce congestion congestion delays with commercial traffic is heavy. We also have the ability to convert passenger lanes to commercial lanes through the use of flexible signage and also the inclusion of by level primary inspection Lane booths. Dedicated processing lanes will be available for buses along with a separate separate processing facility for pedestrians and cyclists to ensure their safety and avoid intermingling with the traffic. Opportunities for expedited processing will also be used through the acceptance of Nexus cards II manifest programs and the availability of fast lanes and a trusted traveler processing center will be located in Canada at the Canadian parliamentary. Both ports of entry will use the extensive footprints available to offer the most up to date technology to provide efficient border processing capabilities. Advanced large scale imaging imaging technology will also be available to effectively verifying goods traveling across the border, as well as processing of hazardous materials. And both ports of entry also include animal pens available on site to support the processing of livestock, along with large refrigeration units to support temporary storage for perishable.
So moving into a construction update work on the bridge is steadily progressing. As I mentioned, the two bridge towers are now at their full height of 722 feet. For those of you who may be in the area you may have noticed prior to the US tower reaching its full height, there were those large tower forum boxes at the top of each tower that had murals on the four sides. We have been working with regional stakeholders to find homes for those murals. The art that was on the US side was created by a Southwest Detroit artist and they have become quite iconic images in the neighborhood. So we're quite excited to have found new homes for them. And we will be making an announcement of who's receiving the artwork and hopefully finding prominent locations to display it in the near future. Both sides of the bridge have installed approximately 78 stake cables which will eventually support the weight of the bridge and the trucks and vehicles that are using it and there are a total of 260 and stay cables to be installed 108 on each side coming off of each tower. Right now half of the road deck construction is complete as workers continue with steel girder and floor beam installation and concrete precast panel placement. The deck over the Detroit River is approximately 920 feet from the center of the Canadian tower and 836 feet from the center of the US tower. construction continues simultaneously on the road ducts extending inland that are connected to the ports of entry. The shipping channel through the Detroit River will remain open during the duration of the construction with close coordination between the project team and respective agencies. And you may be wondering when will the two sections actually meet in the middle of the bridge that is or sorry in the middle of the river that is anticipated to be happen in mid 2024. At the US port of entry, significant progress is continuing on the construction of all 313 Or all 13 buildings and structures that are all at various stages. Activities include interior and exterior building construction with drywall work, plumbing and underground utility installations underway. Construction of the 36 inspection lanes is also underway with paving and grading work happening throughout the site. similar activities are happening at the Canadian port of entry with construction currently underway on all 11 buildings construct and structures again in various states of construction. Construction of the 24 primary inspection lanes and the 16 toll booths are also underway. And the team has also begun construction on the overpass bridge within the port of entry. So in Canada, all tolls will be collected on the Gordie Howe bridge in Canada so all tolling is handled across the river. For those of you who may be using the current bridge, it's basically the exact opposite where they collect all tools in the US we will be collecting all tuples in Canada. With the Michigan interchange, which for those of you who live in the neighborhood, this is probably the part that you're experiencing the most As the project requires significant construction activity along 1.8 miles of i 75, including the demolition and removal of existing infrastructure, reconstruction of select roadways and bridges and construction of new project infrastructure. This work includes construction of four road crossing bridges, five pedestrian bridges, access ramps and siphons work in this section is well underway, and the construction of the ramps from I 75 into the US port of entry continues to be ongoing. And for those that we were traveling along for it street, you're now traveling right under them and they are massive. After looking at the renderings for eight years. It was only actually last year when they were installed that I realized how big these are. So they're quite large. Noise walls are being constructed along three sections of southbound I 75 to help mitigate highway noise for nearby residents, and these locations include green to Waterman streets, Dragoon to junction streets, junction to Clark streets. Construction of the noise walls began earlier this year and will continue into 2024. Once complete, the noise walls will range from 10 to 20 feet in height and will be approximately eight inches thick. And barriers in some locations will integrate to existing and new structures such as ramps and festering bridges, and the wall colors will alternate between a limestone pattern finished the various grades. So safety and security is a top priority for the project team on this project both for our workers and also for the communities which are adjacent to us. This is just a friendly reminder that construction sites are considered private property and entering them is dangerous and considered trespassing. As tower construction and construction over the Detroit River continues. on the Canadian side there is a 46 metre exclusion zone along the Canadian shoreline to prevent voters from entering the area and on both sides of the river. The project team has safety boats monitoring the area and is working closely with local authorities to keep everyone safe. The Canadian port of entry and bridge site fall under a no fly zone meaning it is considered a no drone zone by the Federal Aviation Administration. Our crews regardless of which side of the bridge that they're working on are working at heights and unauthorized zones do put or unauthorized drones Sorry, do put those workers at risk when an unexpected drone suddenly drops in right beside them. And it can be startling and if they are at extreme heights, it can also be extremely dangerous. So we do ask for their safety as well as yours. Please respect the workers and avoid flying drones into the works bases. So moving on to the community benefits plan. This is a unique component of major international infrastructure project. And for the Gordie Howe International Bridge project. Our community benefits plan has two components. One is a workforce development and participation strategy that focus on ways to engage local residents and businesses and vendors with the economic opportunities that are associated with the project. And then the second is a neighborhood infrastructure strategy, which is a $20 million Canadian fund split between the two communities so 10 million for Southwest Detroit and 10 million for West Windsor, that are really focusing on a series of veterans that have been identified through community consultation. Just looking at some of the highlights for the workforce development and participation strategy. Since the start of project construction in 2018. The project continues to exceed the 20% local workforce schools that were set, with 42% of nearly 11,000 individuals oriented to work on the project being local to either the city of Detroit or Windsor Essex. More than 650 apprentices and pre apprentices in Windsor and Detroit have been engaged work on the project. And more than 275 local businesses in Windsor and Detroit have been engaged to provide goods or services to the project. And as well, about 330 Students Co Op students from local universities and colleges have been hired by WNBA and DNA.
Since our last update in September, the project team has participated in a number of events to further support the Workforce Development and participation strategy, including presentations with local students at University Prep Academy, University of Detroit Mercy and Wayne State. We met with a number of different or organization's workforce agencies in both cities to further support their understanding of what the job requirements are. And we also issued eblasts, about available job opportunities. With the neighborhood infrastructure strategy, that $20 million fund that I mentioned, we've also made great progress in implementing the nearly 40 initiatives that are currently underway. Some of our highlights include construction activities, continuing through the Delray Home Improvement Program here in southwest Detroit, the completion of the Malden Park observation area in Windsor discussions with the city of Detroit to determine future cycling infrastructure investments in southwest Detroit that are nearing completion. And we have also followed up with all of the organizations that submitted programming proposals to a recent call for proposals that occurred in the summer that will help us identify additional new initiatives that meet will be funded as part of the community benefits plan. We are in final discussions with those agencies and organizations and we anticipate and announcement on that in early 2024. As well, our delivery partners have also reported some of these following outcomes including business development programming offered in southwest Detroit through Fuente cultural integration, and youth programming continued through various partners including Congress of communities, urban neighborhood initiatives, and Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation. So I mentioned the Delray Home Improvement Program and that is, it is a large part of that $10 million fund here in Detroit. This program is a $4 million investment that offers $20,000 grants and construct or repair services to homes within an eligible area. After three years and nearly 100 homes going through this program, we are coming up to the final days of it. We all have the funds, the 4 million will soon be fully expended and it's our intent not to leave one penny on on the counter. So we are looking for people in houses within this catchment area to please complete applications and sign up as soon as you can. At this stage in the game. Some people do have applications that they may be slowly completing. Unfortunately, we're running out of time, so priority will be given to those who are able to provide a complete application package.
Just last week, right before American Thanksgiving, we did announced that the community organization investment was accepting applications and this initiative is a five year granting program. We are now in our fifth and final year, and the program has invested to date $500,000 Canadian into more than 40 local initiatives and Windsor and Detroit. This initiative initiative offers nonprofit and charitable organizations that are located in or provide services to southwest Detroit or West Windsor, an opportunity to request funding in the amounts of 1000 to $25,000 per use in supporting events programming and infrastructure improvements. Details on the eligibility criteria and the application form can be found on the project website and we do have some fact sheets and applications here. If you have any questions we will be happy to answer those as well. There will be an online information session next week and in person Information Session occurring in January prior to the January 31 deadline. Another exciting thing that happened over the past quarter was the Gordie Howe International Bridge project team was honored with the inaugural national environmental, social and governance ESG award from the Canadian Council for public private partnerships for its outstanding commitment to sustainability and community prosperity in the Windsor Detroit region presented at the p3 national awards gala in Toronto in November. The National ESG award recognizes a p3 project that contributes to environmental protection or enhancement, wildlife protection, climate and greenhouse gas impact natural infrastructure attributes indigenous engagement and community benefits. As a reminder, you are currently in the southwest Detroit community office we have a similar location, similar community office located in Anlage and West Windsor. Both offices are open to the public between 10 and four every Tuesday and Thursday and are staffed with project team members who can answer any questions that you have, or can at least drop down the answer to some of your questions. So if you're in the area on one of those days and would like to meet with us just wander in, we are able to accommodate appointments outside of those times, we just need some advance notice. So please reach out if something different works for your schedule. And finally, we know people have a lot of questions, and sometimes complaints. And sometimes we get those two. So that's always good. There's a number of ways in addition to the community offices, I people are also able to call us on our toll free number which is toll free in Canada and the US. We also offer the info at WD bridge info account. And we're happy to take any inquiries or questions through those mechanisms at any time. And finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention all of our social media. In addition to the website, our communications team is really active and do a great job in providing information on our social media channels. So especially relating to real time information, such as traffic information in our detours, that's a great place to go. Facebook or Twitter. The communications team has also done a great job in videos that document and describe some of the construction that's underway. And they've also included some of the superstars that are working on the project, including even the job which if any of you follow us on social media, you may be aware of the job that helps control birds on on the construction site. She got a big hit when she was one of our top social media posts in 2023. So I'm happy to answer any questions that people may have. So if you do have a comment card, I'm happy to pick those up right now.
So the question is relating to the schedule are all four projects, the components plan to open at the same time and what is the target opening date. So in terms of the four components, that would be the two ports of entry, the interchange and the bridge. For the most part, the bridge and the ports of entry will all open at the same time. Michigan interchanges a little different. The actual connecting ramps into the port will not be open until the bridge is operational. So once the bridge and ports are open, those graphs will come open. But all of the other work that's happening along i 75. The pedestrian bridges that are currently underway, those will all be coming into service over the next year. And the for road crossing bridges are already in service in terms of the target opening date, so the original contractual opening date was 2024. During the pandemic, v&a did a great job in making sure that the work continued to progress in a safe manner. We were very lucky with where the pandemic hit the timing of it if you can be lucky in a pandemic, in that the word was predominantly outside and it was naturally distance distance. So bridging North America did have a 72 month construction schedule during the pandemic. They did start moving things around. There have been ongoing discussions about what that actually means for the room. If the remainder of the construction, obviously, the safety of workers is a priority, as is the quality of the job. So we do continue to have those discussions, however, it is likely that there may be some movement in that originally anticipated opening at the end of 2024. Does that answer your question? Anyone else with question? Okay, there's a number of us around. So don't be intimidated. We are all there's a lot of us. But we're here for a reason. Everyone has a different area of expertise. So if you do have questions and are feeling a little camera shy, please just grab one of us. And if we don't know the answer, I'm sure somebody in the room can get it for you. So thank you so much. We'll be doing the same presentation at five the Dean so if you want if you really want to stay you can, or you can tell your neighbors and they are more than welcome to join us. We're here until 630 tonight, so thank you
