'Unusual activity' expected at Blue Water Bridge — but not related to border security

If you notice some "unusual activity" near or at the Blue Water Bridge over the coming months, it has nothing to do with heightened border security measures, according to bridge officials.

There will be more technology instruments in use from now through the summer.

A small group of eligible start-up companies is testing mobility or border-related technologies such as sensors and drones, and on trucks under "real-world" conditions.

Alexandre Gauthier, spokesperson for the Federal Bridge Corporation, which operates the crossing, says their involvement is limited other than providing the testing environment and ensuring "normal bridge operations continue uninterrupted."

The bridge corporation recently posted a heads-up to travellers and area residents on social media about the testing.

"Our posts were only meant as an advisory for commuters and locals who might otherwise worry or alert us of unusual activity around the bridge," said Gauthier.

Roughly 10 companies will be testing technologies related to mobility, transportation and emissions.

This includes the use of things such as drones, unmanned aerial view vehicles flying near or around the bridge; trucks moving in specific formations and closed-circuit television cameras monitoring traffic pattern.

"There are no security concerns, and traffic will not be affected," the bridge corporation said on its Facebook page. "We appreciate your cooperation as these exciting pilot projects move forward."

The Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network (OVIN) is not-for-profit funded by the government. It's designed to support new technologies around transportation and the automotive and mobility sectors.

The work being tested at the bridge is paid for under the FedDev Ontario umbrella, said Raed Kadri, the head of OVIN.

"This program really is a piloting program. And what that allows Ontario small, medium-size enterprises to do is try their technology out and pilot it for a prolonged period of time so that they can work out the final kinks in them," he said. 

"I would say it's the last leg of commercialization and industrialization before we get them to market and why that's important is with a partner like the Blue Water Bridge, they're able to look at to use this big piece of infrastructure."

Kadri says the bridge's structural integrity will be tested to see if there are places in need of maintenance.

Other pilot work includes monitoring emissions and fuel performance metrics, he says, along with tracking traffic flow congestion and vehicle behaviour data via AI-based real-time analytics systems.

"How do we modernize our infrastructure, reduce emissions and improve the flow of goods and people across Ontario?" he said.