Lafarge Canada Inc., Windsor Port Authority, Amico Infrastructures, The Essex Regional Conservation Authority and Chall-‐Eng Services coordinated their efforts to improve fish habitat in the Detroit River in Windsor while securing the working shoreline for years to come. The Lafarge Windsor aggregate dock is located in Windsor, and is part of the Lafarge Great Lakes market area. The collapse of the dock early in 2012 provided an opportunity to rebuild the face of the dock with both environmental and structural improvements as design goals.
The structural improvements to the dock included the placement of armour stone in various sizes on the dock face, placement of new bollards, and site drainage design. The environmental component of the design included wave attenuating curves of the improved dockface, in water rock structures, and application of varying slopes on the working face during installation.
The environmental aspects of the design promote biodiversity on the river which contains whitefish, sturgeon, salmon, perch and walleye. Crayfish and mussels will also benefit from the rock outcroppings. The Detroit River was designated as an American Heritage River in 1998 and a Canadian Heritage River in 2001.
Lafarge is a tenant on the dock, leasing from Windsor Port Authority. It was the combination of private and public efforts that led to dock improvements. The site is an excellent example of improvements for commercial use and environmental stewardship coming together.