The Government of Canada, the Province of Ontario and the City of Sault Ste. Marie today marked the completion of the new transportation corridor leading to the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge.

The Honourable Donna Cansfield, Ontario’s Transportation Minister and Sault Ste. Marie’s Mayor John Rowswell officially opened the transportation corridor. A total of $11.2 million was shared between the Government of Canada and the Province of Ontario. The City of Sault Ste. Marie also contributed $1.4 million for construction, as well as $6.3 million for the purchase of required property.

“Sault Ste. Marie is the 9th busiest Canada-United States crossing and Canada’s new government is proud that this route could finally be completed,” said Minister Cannon. ‘”This transportation corridor is designed to ease local congestion, which will reduce emissions into the air and improve access between Ontario and Michigan.”

“Sault Ste. Marie is an important northern gateway. More than 130,000 commercial trucks carry about $3.5 billion of goods across the International Bridge every year,” said Cansfield. “The new truck route will reduce delays and save commercial carriers about $1 million a year.”

The new truck route, which will also be shared by cars, was designed to ease local congestion and improve access to the International Bridge connecting Ontario and Michigan. The new transportation corridor connects Highway 17 with the International Bridge via the Second Line Road and Hudson Street, and provides a more direct connection to Interstate 75 in Michigan. Trucks will bypass Sault Ste. Marie’s downtown area. The new route will reduce travel time for trucks and eliminate several 90-degree turns, making roads safer for residents of Sault Ste. Marie.

“This long awaited transportation corridor moves trucks out of the downtown area, allows traffic on the west side of the city to move quickly to the city’s centre, and lets us immediately advance Sault Ste. Marie as a multimodal transportation hub,” said Mayor Rowswell.

In the 2006 Federal Budget, Canada’s new government has committed an unprecedented $16.5 billion over the next four years for provincial, territorial and municipal infrastructure, including $2.4 billion over the next five years from the Highways and Border Infrastructure Fund.

This year, the Government of Ontario is investing more than $1.4 billion in highway improvements through its five-year ReNew Ontario infrastructure investment plan. The Ontario government has also invested an additional $400 million under Move Ontario, which municipalities may use for improvements to municipal roads and bridges.

Transport companies from Canada, the USA but also as far as Asia and Europe will love the significant time gains these new infrastructures make possible.

Manufactures and consumers, on both sides of the border, can now expect faster border crossings and much more efficient transit alternatives.

Everybody agreed there was a congestion problem and in no small measure, it’s been properly addressed. Another job well done!

Tags: transportation corridor, sault ste. marie, ontario, canada, usa, transit

The May / June 2006 Edition of the excellent Public Roads magazine includes a wonderful article on how the highways trucks use could take a hint from the information superhighway.

With freight volume on American highways expected to increase by a whopping 70% by 2020, over 1998 levels, Electronic Freight Management (EFM) can help considerably reduce congestion by better coordinating intermodal connections.

Biometric smart cards are already in use and contain information on truck drivers, including a photocopy of a commercial driver license as well as the driver’s thumbprint. This information, contained in the embedded gold-colored chips, is used to expedite the movement of cargo through intermodal transfer facilities and trucks through border crossings.

Learn more about EFM and the future of transportation by clicking on the title of this article.

This is awesome news for tens of thousands of Utah commuters as the State receives what is arguably the biggest transportation grant ever. Less pollution, less delays and a streamlined train ride, for people moving from city to city, will make the whole corridor a lot more enjoyable.

Salt Lake City area commuters got a big boost as U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta sealed an agreement with the Utah Transit Authority for $489 million in federal funding for the “FrontRunner” Weber County-to-Salt Lake City Commuter Rail line.

The money will be used to build the new 44 mile commuter rail line that is expected to carry almost 12,000 weekday passengers taking nearly 6,000 cars off the roads everyday Mineta said during a visit to the Farmington Station construction site this afternoon.

“Because it runs parallel to I-15, this rail line offers a common-sense solution to highway congestion to and from Salt Lake City,” Mineta said. “And taking more cars off the road during rush hours will help keep people and products moving through Salt Lake City safely and on time, no matter which path they choose.”

The Full Funding Grant Agreement represents the federal government’s commitment to provide funding for the project, Mineta said. The funds will be allocated over a seven year period from 2006 through 2012.

It allows construction to continue on the new commuter rail line, which will provide service from Pleasant View to the existing Salt Lake City Intermodal Terminal in downtown Salt Lake City, with stops in Salt Lake, Weber and Davis counties.

The line’s downtown terminal will provide commuter rail passengers a direct connection for commuter rail, light rail, and passenger rail with UTA buses and Greyhound intercity bus service. Feeder buses will provide transportation from the terminal to local business and residential areas.

The grant, the largest award given to the state for a single project, will allow more workers to get to Salt Lake City’s booming businesses, Mineta said.

UTA plans to begin operating the line in November 2008, with service at 20-minute intervals during peak periods and every 40 minutes during off-peak periods. At startup, it will serve 6,100 people a day, and up to 12,500 people daily by 2025.

Tags: commuter rail, trains, transit, commuters, passengers, uta, utah