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OTTAWA, March 1, 2017 /CNW/ – The Federal Bridge Corporation Limited (FBCL) is pleased to announce that it is proceeding with the next phase of work on the Blue Water Bridge Master Plan at its bridge plaza located in Point Edward, Ontario.

FBCL confirmed that it is initiating a series of work over the next few years to improve the bridge plaza including the construction of a long awaited emergency return road, the demolition of a vacant commercial building on the bridge plaza and related civil works.

The new emergency return road will provide important safety and efficiency improvements for the bridge operations. It will serve to connect the commercial compound on the south side of the bridge to the plaza and bridge approach on the north side. This connection is essential to provide unrestricted bridge access to emergency first responders, to ease the return of commercial and traffic vehicles to the U.S., to facilitate outbound inspections, to allow broker access for U.S. bound commercial vehicles and to improve the entry and exit of maintenance and delivery vehicles on the bridge plaza.

All projects are located within the existing limits of the FBCL-Blue Water Bridge property. The emergency return road construction will require the vacancy and demolition of four FBCL-BWB owned residential properties. These properties located along St. Clair Street in Point Edward were purchased as part of this long-term strategic plan.

The old commercial building, which was replaced by the new Blue Water Bridge Corporate Centre in 2009, located next to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) traffic operations is to be demolished.

These projects will begin in Spring 2017 and continue over the next few years.  Each project’s scope and schedule will be announced at a later date once the various design investigation activities (including excavation and associated archeological requirements) are completed.

Background Blue Water Bridge Master Plan

FBCL operates the Canadian section of the Blue Water Bridge in Point Edward, Ontario. Prior to 2015, the bridge was owned by the Blue Water Bridge Authority (BWBA) another parent federal Crown corporation. In 2015, BWBA was amalgamated with FBCL.

The Blue Water Bridge Master Plan sets forth the strategy for the redevelopment of the Blue Water Bridge Canadian Plaza and encompasses both short-term and long-term planning for bridge and plaza infrastructure.

The original Blue Water Bridge Master Plan was completed in 2004, and was subsequently updated in 2009 and 2013. With the change in governance, following the amalgamation, FBCL reviewed the Master Plan’s scope and long-term funding requirements to best inform current decision-making.

For further information:

André Girard, Communications
Federal Bridge Corporation
519 336-2720 x 121 (Point Edward), 613 366-5074 x 121 (Ottawa)
andre.girard@federalbridge.ca, www.federalbridge.ca