The Ontario government is stopping installation of some of the girders on the Rt. Hon. Herb Gray Parkway in Windsor.
Glen Murray, Ontario’s minister of transportation and minister of infrastructure issued a statement on the girders.
"I have become aware of an issue regarding some of the girders on the Rt. Hon Herb Gray Parkway,” Murray said in the statement. “This is of great concern to me.”
Murray says further installation of the girders in question has ceased, but other work on the project continues.
The statement does not say what the specific issue is.
“I will be asking independent experts to look into the situation and advise the government within 30 days on the safety and durability of these girders, and to make recommendations,” says Murray.
He adds, the girders in question will be removed unless the safety and durability can be assured and any compliance concerns are addressed.
Murray is working with management teams from the ministries of infrastructure and transportation and Infrastructure Ontario to review the administration of this contract and ensure the project company will fully comply with the contract and with the safety codes and standards.
“I will also work with officials in reviewing how this contract was administered and to ensure we have a better process in place in the future,” says Murray. “The safety of Ontario's infrastructure is our top priority and we will ensure that the safety of the parkway is not compromised.”
The $1.4-billion parkway project is intended to connect Highway 401 in Windsor to Interstate 75 in Detroit over a new crossing over the Detroit River.
“Windsor, and the whole Ontario economy, needs this project, which is creating jobs and will move goods and people quickly across the border," says Murray.
