Truckers that use the Detroit-Windsor Truck Ferry to get their hazmat and oversized loads across the border are facing a long detour for the next few months.
The ferry will suspend operations between Nov. 23 and Feb 15, 2010, while it builds a new dock and terminal in Windsor.
The company recently received an $8.8 million infrastructure improvement grant from Transport Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Transport for the Windsor terminal construction, reports the Journal of Commerce. The improvements should allow the ferry to run more frequently than the 10 trips a day it has been making.
According to Crain's Detroit Business, 40 to 50 trucks use the ferry daily to haul hazardous materials, which aren't allowed on the Ambassador Bridge or the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel.
During the renovation, trucks will have to cross into Canada at the Blue Water Bridge between Port Huron, Mich., and Sarnia, Ontario, about a 150-mile round trip.
