It was probably a good thing that I was not eating when he said that or else I might have choked on my luncheon omelette. I wonder what my face looked like from the other side of the table when he repeated himself.
I figured that DRTP was virtually dead. After all, their office on Howard was for rent since they had moved back to their old location. Their visibility was now gone, not a good sign for them. Oh I knew that they were still trying to flog the doublestack rail tunnel concept but I had always assumed that the reason that they were doing so was so that CP and OMERS would not have to write-down their investment in the DRTP truck project. That must have cost them a pretty penny over the years that they would have to explain to shareholders and pensioners finally.
Deep Throat just watched me with that amused look in his eyes as I nearly fell off my chair in shock and bewilderment. “You cannot be serious. Everyone has attacked the truck expressway from MDOT in the past to Sam Schwartz to the DRIC people. Are you suggesting that DRTP might actually start a lawsuit to set aside the Environmental Assessment so that their project would be considered again? I know that everyone has thought that either the City or the Bridge Company might do it but no one has ever even discussed DRTP. Their website has been “Under Maintenance” for so long that it seemed obvious that nothing more was going to be done. How can you possibly say DRTP?”
“Well my dear friend, you certainly jump to conclusions quickly don’t you. Who said anything about a lawsuit? I expect that Borealis/OMERS and CP would like to have their doublestack rail tunnel but not pay for it. My recollection is that CP had said that such a tunnel was not an urgent priority for them right now but it would become one if they could get it at no cost!”
“Everyone knows that. So then why are you still talking about DRTP,” I wondered.
Deep Throat started. “Let us stand back a bit and look at the three items that you talked about:
- 1) Eddie’s transportation hub and changes to E C Row because they really are one and the same
- 2) Reverse customs or probably Shared Border Management more likely
- 3) College Bridge.
No one really believes that Windsor will become a significant airport hub. Why, Willow Run Airport which will be part of Detroit’s Aerotropolis already “offers five runways, 24-hour FAA Tower and U.S. Customs operations.” It already handles “over 400,000,000 lbs. of cargo annually, making it one of the nation's largest airports for landed air freight flown by exclusively cargo aircraft.”
“I did not know that," I said. "Then why is the City wasting about a quarter of a million dollars of taxpayer money on a Foreign Consultant who will tell us that it makes no sense to do anything with Windsor Airport?”
“You know why one hires a consultant don’t you?" Deep Throat said with amazement in his voice. "You need someone to blame when they come out with an idea that you know should be done but which for some reason you do not have the nerve to say yourself.
The most obvious thing that the Lufthansa subsidiary will say is…”
“Oh my goodness," I cried out. "Of course, there is no truck expressway from the airport to the border! You cannot have a transportation hub if you can’t move the goods, especially perishable ones, across the border quickly. There’s only one way to do so and that is to upgrade the Expressway for trucks. And wasn’t our Mayor opposed to that?
How could he now support upgrading the Expressway? He would look foolish. However, if a world renowned consultant said to do that, then he would have to back off wouldn’t he because the hub is our “Future.” It would be OK then. Henderson would validate it too followed by Star Editorials in favour!
Sandra and Dwight would reluctantly go along with him because he is the Mayor after all. One of them would probably say that it is not a bad idea anyway because there would need to be a temporary route to the border for trucks while the DRIC road was being built.
It would not surprise me if the upgrade to the Expressway would have to be started first while the DRIC Road might be put on the back burner for a few years until such time as the detour was finished. Of course, the upgraded Expressway would have 10 lanes to match what was being done in the West and probably at Manning road as well.
What an ingenious idea since it also stalls off building a new DRIC bridge until the road is complete! That could take forever if the time experience of constructing the Expressway in the first place is repeated. Say, just enough time until truck volumes pick up again in the future.”
“Now you. are getting it,” Deep Throat chuckled. “If you thought about it a little bit more, then you might even be able to guess where the new Customs facility might be built.”
“That is a no-brainer," I smiled feeling very good about myself now and my Sherlock Holmes skills of deductive reasoning. "It would go exactly where DRTP wanted to build its golf course-sized Customs area for US and Canadian truck inspections.
And isn’t that interesting. Trucks could go in one of two directions after they cleared Customs if they were going to the Ambassador Bridge, at least in the interim. They could go west along the Expressway to Huron Church or, someone could build a road on DRTP North right up to College and then west on College to Huron Church. No wonder it was said by the City that nothing would be done with a new College bridge until conversations with CP were completed. Not only do they have to consider a road along College but there might also be an opportunity for a doublestack rail tunnel too.”
Deep Throat looked at me with pride! He knew that I was getting better at reading the tea leaves on this file. I still needed some help from him but once I got a hint I was able to think about alternatives on my own. I wasn’t necessarily correct but I certainly looked at matters in a different light.
I decided to press my luck. “Obviously, there is a conflict between Transport Canada and Minister Van Loan’s Department. The Transport Minister is too busy giving out Infrastructure money around the country for the good of the re-election of the Conservative Party to worry about small things like the major border crossing between Canada and the United States.
Canada Customs falls under the jurisdiction of Van Loan. They are front and centre right now on the Bridge Company Environmental Assessment and probably don’t like it. This is Van Loan’s opportunity not only to save his Department but also to take away the file from the Transport Ministry.
I think that I am right in this because the Prime Minister announced that Van Loan was going to Washington to talk about the Kergin type plan to appoint “ambassadors” to work on border issues, a matter obviously that President Obama has no interest in. I would have thought that the Transport Minister should have been the one who made the trip since Corridors and Gateways come under his Department.”
“I think you hit the nail on the head, BLOGMeister. Van Loan’s comment about the pilot project in Windsor makes no sense whatsoever other than it being a signal to the Bridge Company that he is now the responsible Minister and that he wants to talk to them to make peace.
It may well mean that someone in Ottawa has finally figured out that they have lost and that it is better to retreat to fight another day.
The conversation will clearly be that the Bridge Company should not be too concerned about the DRIC bridge at this time because there is no traffic and that no matter what happens the Government is making sure that trucks will go to the Ambassador Bridge in the most expeditious way possible.
The Minister is being rather disingenuous to be kind because he would rather deal with the matter this way rather than face a lawsuit that will require a permanent solution that could hurt the Government very badly. The Bridge Company would not be fooled for a second time after the FIRA fiasco. No litigation “settlement” would be necessary if the Minister played it right because no litigation has started and the Minister does not want it to be started either. That is his mission.”
I called over the waitress and asked for another cup of coffee. I was feeling a little bit better now, a lot less stressed than a few minutes before. “Of course, you are suggesting that the land owned by DRTP both north and south of the expressway along with the property for the Customs Plaza will be traded for the cost of a doublestack rail tunnel aren’t you? The land south of DRTP will be deeded, probably to the City, to be used as parkland in perpetuity so that Councillor STOPDRTP will not get his shorts into a knot worrying that this is just the precursor to DRTP South being used as a truck Expressway as well. It gets Borealis and CP off the hook too because it means no write-downs on their balance sheets.
Poor Mike Hurst… wasn’t this similar to his Made in Windsor Solution when he was the Mayor?
Heck, the Governments owe it to DRTP since I am sure that Borealis expected to be the fund manager who would be able to charge big fees on this project. I wonder if this was a trial balloon being floated over in Europe these days with the Sovereign Funds.”
Deep Throat just burst out laughing. It was a good thing that the restaurant was virtually empty or else everyone would have looked at him in amazement and wondered what the big joke was.
“Is that part of what Minister Baird and our Mayor talked about along with the sale of the Brighton Beach lands when he was in town a few weeks ago?" I asked. "If so, now I know why the Star did not cover that story very thoroughly. That raises a whole bunch of questions about our Mayor too and what our Councilors know as well.”
Just as I was about to ask one of a dozen questions that just popped into my mind at that exact moment, Deep Throat stood up. “Just make sure that you leave the waitress a big tip. We have occupied her table for much too long. What you want to talk about is something that we will need to speak about in private and for a very long time at the appropriate time.”
And with that, Deep Throat left the restaurant. It was very clear to me that this was not the right time nor the right place. With a sigh, I brought out my VISA card and called over the waitress for the meal tab.
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