Taylor Campbell/The Windsor Star
The Windsor-Detroit border will connect a new binational electric vehicle charging corridor spanning almost 1,400 kilometres.
Touted as the first of its kind, the new corridor announced in Detroit on Tuesday will see electric vehicle charging stations installed every 80 km along a route stretching from Quebec City to Kalamazoo, Mich.
“We know that more and more Canadians and Americans are switching from gas-powered vehicles to zero-emission,” said Canadian Transport Minister Omar Alghabra. “One way to encourage these purchases is by letting you know that you will be able to charge your car on the road, especially when you’re travelling long distances or across the border.”
In Canada, the corridor will run from Windsor to Toronto along Highway 401, then into Montreal on Highway 20 before concluding along Highway 42 to Quebec City. In the U.S., it will be limited to the I-94 from Detroit to Kalamazoo.
Alghabra joined U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in unveiling the Alternative Fuel Corridor in Detroit with Windsor’s skyline as a backdrop.
The corridor’s Canadian side already has 215 charging stations. Sixty-one are between Detroit and Toronto, and 154 are between Toronto and Quebec City. Each charging station has at least one direct current fast charger with a combined charging system connector and is within 6 km of the highway.
“I think it’s fitting that this first U.S./Canada EV corridor runs through both Detroit and Windsor, two of the world’s great auto manufacturing centres,” said Buttigieg. “About $148 billion in cross-border trade came through Detroit this past year alone, and about a third of that was related to the auto sector.”
In March, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Joe Biden announced both countries would work to harmonize the electric vehicle charging experience and develop cross-border alternative fuel corridors.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, another speaker at Tuesday’s announcement, said her state will receive $110 million under the U.S. National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program to build charging stations.
“(The corridor) will allow seamless international travel between Michigan and Canada, accidental or otherwise, with abundant charging options throughout your journey,” Whitmer said.