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Tunnel Traffic Plummets in Wake of Casino Strike
Windsor-Detroit tunnel traffic is down almost 10 per cent since the
Casino Windsor strike started three weeks ago, reversing a trend
which had seen business begin to improve in March, according to a
report to the Windsor Tunnel Commission. Traffic bound for Windsor
is down 9.7 per cent so far this month while Detroit-bound traffic
has dipped by 9.3 per cent, said Neal Belitsky, vice-president of
operations for the Detroit & Canada Tunnel Corporation.
"Of course, it’s virtually all attributable to the labour dispute
at the tunnel," said Belitsky. "Until that is resolved, I don’t
anticipate an upturn."
The amount of revenue that the tunnel has lost was not revealed.
For the first three months of the year, overall traffic was down
three per cent compared to a year ago but for March,
Detroit-to-Windsor traffic was up four per cent over March of last
year and Windsor-to-Detroit traffic was up one per cent.
In other business, the commission awarded a $12,370,720 tender to
Windsor’s Vollmer and Associates for upgrades to the tunnel’s
ventilation system. Six other bids were received, ranging from $12.3
million to $15.9 million.
Vollmer’s bid was almost $2.5 million below previous estimates.
The commission also selected McCormick Rankin Corporation and
Hanna Ghobrial and Spencer to conduct a comprehensive master
planning study relating to the $30 million in tunnel plaza upgrades
recently agreed to by the city and two senior levels of government.
In a report to the commission, deputy city engineer Mario Iatonna
said "the study will include, but not be limited to, the closure of
Goyeau Street between Wyandotte Street and Park Street.
"Such a closure will impact downtown traffic patterns and,
therefore, a more comprehensive review is needed rather than one
just limited to the plaza itself," said Iatonna.
City engineer John Tofflemire said the city is taking "an
aggressive lead role in moving this project along and letting the
other bureaucracies catch up. We need to get going at an operational
level and move this along quickly and orderly."
Read the
entire article at:
The Windsor Star
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