DETROIT - Dangling the prospect of job creation in a region swamped by high unemployment, Gov. Jennifer Granholm, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing and other leaders from the U.S. and Canada are urging state legislators to allow Michigan to enter a partnership to build a new international bridge.
The clock is ticking as the state legislature faces a June 1 deadline to approve joining the $5.3 billion Detroit River International Crossing project between Detroit and Windsor, Ont.
The legislation would permit Michigan's Transportation Department to enter into a relationship with Canada and a private sector project developer. The new bridge would be publicly owned and take up to five years to build.
A combination of federal funds, bonds and $100 million in state transportation dollars would be needed to build Michigan's portion of the bridge. User fees would repay the debt.
The Detroit River International Crossing, the public-private group behind the project, expects it to lead to the creation of 10,000 construction jobs in Michigan and 25,000 full-time positions over the next 20 years.
"This is all about jobs," Granholm told reporters Friday during a news event in downtown Detroit. "All opportunities are going to be lost unless this crossing is built. It's a bridge between the two countries and a bridge to Michigan's future."
Standing in the way are the owners of the 80-year-old Ambassador Bridge. Billionaire Manuel "Matty" Moroun has claimed in a federal lawsuit that U.S. and Canadian officials are stalling his efforts to build a second, twin span across the river.
The U.S. Coast Guard has rejected his application for a permit. Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis said Friday that operators of the Ambassador Bridge also have not submitted complete environmental applications to Canadian officials for a second span.
Moroun's new span would be about two miles northeast of the proposed government bridge.
Ambassador Bridge operators have said traffic along the old bridge has decreased over the past decade and the crossing cannot support two bridges.
"The state of Michigan and Canada want to take 70 per cent of our business," said Moroun's wife, Nora. "This is all Canada wanting to own our crossing."
The Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel are the primary Detroit river crossings between the U.S. and Canada. The border is considered one of the busiest trade corridors in the world, with more than 40 per cent of U.S. trade with Canada passing through the area.
Officials supporting the Detroit River International Crossing project fear that expansion of a bridge between western New York and Canada will bite into that trade.
