For Port of Windsor, a C$11MM Capacity Boost

Congestion relief is coming to Ontario’s Port of Windsor. The Canadian government and Essex Terminal Railway Company (ETR) will invest C$11.2 million to boost warehouse capacity there and speed railcar loading.

Transport Canada on July 12 reported that the government will provide C$5 million through the National Trade Corridors Fund, which supports infrastructure projects that “improve the flow of goods and people in Canada; increase the flow of trade in and out of Canada; help the transportation system to withstand the effects of climate change and better adapt to new technologies and innovation; and address the transportation needs of Arctic and northern communities.”

ETR will contribute C$6.2 million. Located at the Windsor-Detroit Gateway, the 22-mile (35-kilometer) short line runs from the east side of Windsor through the town of LaSalle and terminates in Amherstburg, roughly paralleling the Detroit River. It interchanges with CN, Canadian Pacific and CSX, and services customers in the industrial, chemical, agribusiness, salt, automotive engines, lumber, scrap and food products sectors.

The joint investment will also help increase the capacity and efficiency of Morterm Limited’s transload activities at the port, according to Transport Canada. Morterm, an ETR sister company, has 160,000 square feet of indoor storage and more than 90 acres of outdoor, fenced and gated storage yards.

“The need for additional infrastructure to store goods at the Port of Windsor is critical to maintaining a competitive, resilient and fluid supply chain,” Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra said. “The contribution I am announcing today will solve capacity issues, create good jobs, and grow the Windsor regional economy.”