Prototype of an International Smart Freight Corridor Platform for the Border Between Michigan and Ontario Estimated to Cost $1,806,218 for Year 1 and $8,211,885 for Years 2 through 4.

The Blue Water Bridge (BWB) links Port Huron, Michigan, to Point Edward, Ontario, and serves as a critical artery for international commercial and freight traffic. The BWB experiences lengthy and unpredictable delays, particularly during peak hours, creating significant challenges. This project aimed to alleviate congestion through an International Smart Freight Corridor (ISFC) Platform, which provided users with real-time and predictive travel time data. The project goals were to enable better travel decision-making by users, support timely incident response, and improve commercial traffic flow by reducing wait times, queuing, and congestion.

• The ISFC prototype (Year 1) was $1,806,218.
• The ISFC system (Years 2, 3, and 4) was estimated to cost $8,211,885.
• This cost includes development fees, licensing fees for supporting cloud infrastructure and software, and consulting fees for studying the feasibility for expansion to other crossings.
• Beyond the three-year initial period, ongoing licensing costs were estimated to be $261,000 per year, including costs required for database hosting and third-party licenses, such as APIs.