Short-Listed Teams Invited To Submit Bids 

TORONTO - Infrastructure Ontario and the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) released a request for proposals (RFP) today inviting companies short-listed to design, build, finance and maintain The Windsor-Essex Parkway to submit formal proposals. This represents a major milestone - one that brings The Windsor-Essex Parkway one step closer to full construction. It is also the first request for proposals (RFP) to be issued for a road project under Ontario's Alternative Financing and Procurement (AFP) model.

The short-listed teams - Rose City Parkway Group, Windsor-Essex Transportation Partners and Windsor Essex Mobility Group - have approximately six months to prepare and submit their proposals.

Involving local business community is an important part of this project.   Since the start of the process, proponents have demonstrated an interest in working with local businesses. As part of their submissions, each team responding to the RFP must expand their strategy to involve local businesses and a local First Nations.

The release of the RFP is a key milestone in the procurement process.  The short-listed teams participated in a rigorous competitive request for qualifications (RFQ) process that evaluated and ranked each participant's approach to partnering, design, construction, maintenance, as well as their financing abilities to deliver the Parkway.   

Once the RFP proposals are received, Infrastructure Ontario and MTO will evaluate the bids, select a preferred proposal, and then negotiate a final contract.  The entire process will be overseen by a fairness monitor and the successful team will be announced in late 2010.  

Initial construction work on the Parkway began in December 2009. Full construction of the Parkway will begin in 2011. 

The innovative Windsor-Essex Parkway will provide significant transportation and community benefits. The 11-kilometre below-grade freeway will separate local and international traffic and eliminate stop and go traffic on the way to the border. With more than 300 acres of green space, 20 kilometres of recreational trails and new community connections, residents will enjoy an improved quality of life. 

The Parkway is the Canadian access road portion of an end-to-end border transportation system that will improve the flow of traffic through Canada's busiest trade corridor and will contribute to the economies of Ontario, Canada, Michigan and the United States. The system will include new inspection plazas, a new international bridge and a direct connection to the U.S. Interstate system.

MTO's goal is to be a world leader in moving people and goods safely, efficiently and sustainably, to support a globally competitive economy and a high quality of life.

Infrastructure Ontario and the Ministry of Transportation are working to develop The Windsor-Essex Parkway, which will remain publicly owned, publicly controlled and publicly accountable. Infrastructure Ontario is a Crown corporation dedicated to managing some of the province's larger and more complex infrastructure renewal projects - ensuring they are built on time and on budget. 

For more information about the procurement of this project and to view the RFP, visit www.infrastructureontario.ca. 

Explore The Windsor-Essex Parkway at www.weparkway.ca.

Contacts:

Paulette den Elzen
Infrastructure Ontario
416-327-5764

Tara Wilkins

Windsor Border Initiatives Implementation Group
Ministry of Transportation
519-973-7353

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