Windsor Regional Construction Traffic Management System

In March of 2004, the Federal Government and the Government of Ontario committed $300 million to invest in infrastructure improvements to the Windsor Gateway under the Lets Get Windsor-Essex Moving Strategy. Construction activities were proposed to improve the transportation infrastructure within the Windsor area including CP Rail grade separation projects for Walker Road and Howard Avenue, widening of Manning Road, Tunnel Plaza improvements, the widening of Highway 401 through Windsor as well as a number of other infrastructure improvement projects by the City and County of Essex. It was foreseen that these activities would have a significant impact on the already congested traffic conditions in the City of Windsor. Given the strategic importance of these locations because of their proximity to border crossings, or service as a major economic corridor and transportation thoroughfare, managing traffic effectively and in a timely manner is of immediate importance. The Windsor Regional Construction Traffic Management System plan was proposed and implemented to address these concerns via the proposed usage of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). The plan consists of four separate initiatives: City/Ministry-owned Mobile ITS, ITS on the Approaches to the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel, ITS on E.C. Row, and Improved ITS on the Windsor Arterials. These initiatives were successfully implemented providing: improved incident response times, heightened degree of safety near the approaches to the border crossings, and providing motorists with advance border crossing delay information. The initiative also serves as an excellent example of how three levels of government worked together to improve the overall manner in which major construction effort is executed in the context of improved driver awareness of traffic conditions, improved safety through the construction work-zones, reduced traffic gridlock and, reduced driver frustration.