WINDSOR, Ont. — With the Ontario government already having spent $240 million and early construction in full swing, provincial political leaders gathered Thursday in Windsor to emphasize their commitment to the $5-billion DRIC border infrastructure project.

The proclamation came less than 24 hours after a landmark decision by Michigan's state representatives to remain a participant in the binational government effort to build a new cross-border Highway 401 connection in Windsor to I-75 in Detroit.

"Our commitment is firm," said Kathleen Wynne, Ontario's Minister of Transportation. "We are going to move ahead. We are going to build this parkway."

Ontario's contribution under the DRIC plan is to oversee construction of the $1.6-billion Windsor-Essex Parkway -- a new nine-kilometre border feeder highway in the Huron Church Road-Talbot Road corridor from the end of Highway 401 to the industrial Brighton Beach area where a new bridge is touted to be built.

"I can't remember how many times people said this was not going to go forward and here we are," said local MPP and Ontario's finance minister Dwight Duncan.

"To actually see construction on the parkway underway, I can't tell you how good it makes me feel."

The early parkway work is a $15-million effort to build two new overpass bridges in the area of Highway 3 and Howard Avenue. It includes 140 jobs with the contractor being Maidstone-based Facca Construction.

Wynne touted 12,000 jobs on this side of the border connected to the DRIC effort will be created over the project's lifetime -- expected to stretch at least another five years. Work on the parkway should be in full swing starting next spring after a successful bidder is selected this fall. Three consortiums -- each consisting of an array of local, national and international firms -- were selected late last year as finalists.