Skilled workers needed to fill $50M bridge plaza job awarded to local contractor
President of TCI Titan said unions have found workers in the past and has "no doubt" they will again
The company awarded a contract to build the plaza for the Ambassador Bridge twin-span said it could be tricky to find quality workers to fill the job.
Art Ussoletti is the president of TCI Titan, the company awarded a $50 million contract to build the customs plaza on the Canadian side of the Ambassador Bridge.
"It's huge we're really, really excited and very proud to be a part of it for sure," said Ussoletti. "It's a real historic build and to be part of that is very humbling for sure."
Ussoletti's team has been working "hand-in-hand" with the Detroit International Bridge Co. and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) on the design plan. He said his company will be building everything "from the booths, back toward Huron Chruch." That includes the border-crossing building, parking, and the structures around it.
Jim Lyons, executive director of the Windsor Construction Association, described the contract as "excellent."
"Obviously, any time someone is going to spend money in our community and award a contract to a local contractor then we're going to feel good about that," he said. "We all need the work. We are busy, but any additional work is awesome."
Work could begin within the next 30 days, said Ussoletti. Prep work is already underway and the CBSA approval process will also need to happen.
Workers needed
But Ussoletti said the two-year project needs high-quality workers, which have been hard to find in the past.
"Last summer was probably one of the busiest years and I don't think just for Titan but the construction industry as a whole," he said. "It definitely was tricky."
He anticipates the project will take about 500 - 1,000 skilled workers.
"Speaking with our local unions we're looking to them to supply us with quality people and I know they will," said Ussoletti. "They have in the past and I have no doubt they will."
Lyons said the amount of work might be a challenge for some trades, but he's confident the fact it's ground work and not on the bridge itself, means staffing shouldn't be too much of a problem.
"All this work at one time is great. As long as we keep stringing these types of projects along … we'll welcome it and keep it coming."