December 10, 2007

Building the Ambassador Bridge

Please enjoy these historical flickers showing the building of the Ambassador Bridge as we know it today:





Constuction for a new cable bridge (just west of the current bridge) is well under way on the American side of the border right now. All is moving ahead according to schedule. Take a look at it here:
Wow!

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

I always wondered if there were such records in existence. Very interesting.

Anonymous said...

Very clever Mr. Mayor. Didn't know you were a proponent of the Ambassador Bridge.

Anonymous said...

To anonymous number 2: I have remained somewhat neutral on this issue but it is clear that the Ambassador Bridge people have already started to build a new bridge. You can see this every time you cross over the bridge. The new approach to the highways is very apparent and the amount of heavy equipment clearing the site is well under way. The video clip from the Ambassador Bridge Co. in this posting makes a pretty convincing pitch. They are simply adding two new lanes to accomodate extra traffic. The footprint is nominal as they are only a 100 feet to the west and it will tie into existing customs infrastructure at either end. Traffic, which is less than it was a few years ago will continue to use the existing Huron Church Corridor. The question then becomes: Why are we re-inventing the wheel especially since this project is 100% privately funded? If we want, we can always build a second bridge at whatever expence in the future. Why don't we just wait and see how this one turns out first.

Anonymous said...

Because of Bill C-3, this is a federal issue. The role of Dalton and friends is limited, as they really only have to process Environmental Assessments and land acquisitions; this is one of the reasons why the federal Conservatives are being pressured to empower provinces. Locally, control by-laws are obvious impediments.
Perhaps the real intention of the Greenlink proposal is to get an idea of how much the ABC is willing to spend to allay the fears/concerns of Windsorites.
How does John Tory's involvement in the debate benefit Windsor? Perhaps a more informed or better connected reader could enlighten me.

Anonymous said...

John Tory? Just a drive by smear. Any chance, any shot he can get. If we are just trying to gauge how much of the project that the Bridge co. is covering then it's game over. They have clearly revealed that they are picking up the entire tab. Local control bi-laws are just wasting time for no reason. The bridge is coming and coming fast. Look at the footage in this post to see that in 1927/28 both countries were working simultaneously on both sides of the river. Stalling is just stupid. Maybe they should lose the Maryvale project just for the learning experience. As far as Dalton's minions are concerned, they are just surfing in any wake they can find. Dangerous game that. Sooner or later they will either get lee bowed or sucked under.

Anonymous said...

What similarities to today. Nice houses and lots of money being spent. A two year time frame to complete the bridge and then Wamo! The Depression.

Anonymous said...

Interesting blog. The new bridge proposal looks fine and seems well thought out. This begs the question: "What is all the fuss about?" Three lanes of traffic for either direction plus a redundant bridge for times when needed (fireworks night). Everything else stays the same. Why are we wasting time and money on this thing then? I don't get it.

Anonymous said...

ahh MOM - I see you too are now "a proponent" of the bridge company.

God forbid people seek information, evaluate and make their own decision.

The next step is being a paid instigator.

Anonymous said...

Bunker mentality Chris? Must we agree with you 100% 0f the time? On 100% of every issue? Yes I know MOM is a good source of info and directly linked with your site, in fact MOM often supports many of your opinions. But does it have to support 100% of your every word?

Sounds like jack boots and paranoia.

Careful your starting to sound like a Windsor Back Room Boy Insider. Chris your free to look for information. The Bridge second span? No taxpayer investment. Minimal impact. Our 3 levels of government and perhaps with a private company can build another solution. Sounds like a 2 for 1 kind of deal. In general, call me a big fan. Keep up the good work, save your efforts for the real world. MOM is a good blog.

Did you mean a collaborator of the Fascist Machine accepting nylons, chocolate and cheese rinds?

Breath deeply, have a second cup of coffee. Lighten up.Unwind. Smile.

Anonymous said...

I'm with MOM on this one... It sounds like a no-brainer to me. The part I like the best is that the government DOESN'T have their grimy paws all over it. Let Matty do his stuff and let us reap the benefits for a change!!

Cheers on the historic clips as well. Gives me some optimistic hope that things can get done is this city given proper leadership!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

You're using the name of a fictional "Saved by the Bell" character. It seems rather obvious to me that Mr. Schnurr was attempting to be funny.

"Careful your starting to sound like a Windsor Back Room Boy Insider." Not quite. The "proponent/enemy" monikers were partly created by Gord Henderson and the other CAW cheerleaders employed by The Windsor Star.

King Francis the Technocrat wants the electorate to "lighten-up" and forget about his failings as Mayor of Windsor. I think it's vital to keep in mind that King Francis has the support of only 29 PERCENT (or less) of registered voters.

Anonymous said...

You're using the name of a fictional "Saved by the Bell" character. It seems rather obvious to me that Mr. Schnurr was attempting to be funny.

"Careful your starting to sound like a Windsor Back Room Boy Insider." Not quite. The "proponent/enemy" monikers were partly created by Gord Henderson and the other CAW cheerleaders employed by The Windsor Star.

King Francis the Technocrat wants the electorate to "lighten-up" and forget about his failings as Mayor of Windsor. I think it's vital to keep in mind that King Francis has the support of only 29 PERCENT (or less) of registered voters.

Anonymous said...

Chris...Your levity perhaps misunderstood. What's the payscale for a good instigator?

Anonymous said...

Oh my - missbliss - my comment was in jest regarding accusations thrown at me for posting Ambassador Bridge postive stories.

Quick history - I've been called a "paid instigator", "employed by the bridge company" and "an Ambassador Bridge lackey"

It was a sarcastic appraisal about the lengths our local pols and media will go to support the official city stance.

So smile - it was clearly a futile attempt at humour :)

Anonymous said...

Kirwood Dirby -

I'm not really sure - I keep asking for a raise but the cheque always comes back reading "0"

Anonymous said...

Sorry Chris Scnurr I did'nt get it and just went off. I'm the one that needs a humor checkup.I thought you were going after Kirwood. I should think a bit more and type a lot less. Maybe take my own advice!

Anonymous said...

My bad spelling Chris Schnurr. Thanks for all the work you do here in Windsor. I read how you want to get the water bills down.

Anonymous said...

No biggie - its hard to determine humour if you don't know the background.

The WUC battle is ongoing. Waiting to see how much of a white wash the audit might be.

Anonymous said...

Based on Finance Minister Duncan's fall economic update, I think it's fairly safe to say Greenlink is going to die an embarrassingly-expensive death. Thanks be to King Francis the Technocrat.

Anonymous said...

Does anybody have a tally of what has been spent by mayor and council so far? ie. Sam Schwartz, advertising etc. It would be interesting to see that number so that it can be weighed against budget cuts.