Free Press Bridge Editorial

Very insightful Editorial by the Detroit Free Press today. It picks up on on the themes that I have been Blogging about for a very long time and places them in a context of hard financial times for Michigan.

Given Ontario's Provincial budget, can't the same case be made here too!

Suspend a wasteful race
March 30, 2007

The future of the vital bridge between Detroit and Windsor might be decided, for better or worse, by who gets a shovel in the riverbank first. The private Detroit International Bridge Co., which owns the four-lane Ambassador Bridge and plans to build a six-lane span next to it, has the edge with plans to start construction next year and finish in 2010 or 2011.

If the bridge company succeeds, the separate plan of a binational commission to put up another bridge farther south, near Zug Island on the American side, becomes irrelevant. Construction on that crossing probably would not even start until 2009 and finish in 2013. As a practical matter, if the Ambassador, owned by billionaire transportation mogul Matty Moroun, builds first, it would eliminate the need for another nearby bridge.

Dan Stamper, president of the Detroit International Bridge Co., said his company has spent $450 million on property acquisition, engineering and demolition, and would spend another $450 million to build the parallel span.

The Michigan Department of Transportation has already spent $11.2 million -- and could spend $20 million more -- on the Detroit River International Crossing study that will recommend a site for another bridge by next year. The study includes drilling 14 holes near Zug Island and Historic Ft. Wayne to examine the bedrock.

Given Michigan's financial crisis, it's time to suspend the DRIC study until the coalition knows whether or not the Ambassador Bridge can build its twin span. The answer to that question will depend largely on Canada, as it should. The crossing, after all, involves two nations.

Delaying study can't hurt

On the U.S. side, there are some advantages to twinning the Ambassador, including the use of existing bridge plazas and interstate connections. But the DRIC study rejected the Ambassador plan because of traffic and environmental impacts on Windsor's residential and business districts. The government bodies making up DRIC are considering sites near Zug Island that cross into an industrial area with few residents.

Among other things, the bridge company needs approval from the U.S. Coast Guard and clearance from Transport Canada, a federal agency that will conduct an environmental assessment. The Ambassador expects to get answers on both issues this year.

Meantime, there's little to lose in delaying the DRIC study. Traffic on the Ambassador Bridge has actually dropped since 1999, and the bridge now operates at about 50% of its capacity. In 2006, the Ambassador carried 9.4 million vehicles, including 3.5 million trucks and buses.

The Ambassador probably won't reach capacity until 2025. The immediate need is not to build more lanes but to improve the flow of goods and traffic with better customs service, operations and roads. To ease congestion, the bridge company has added inspection and customs booths. MDOT's $200-million Gateway project, directly connecting the bridge plaza to the interstate system, also will improve traffic flow on and off the bridge. That MDOT project has a diminished payoff if a new bridge is built downriver from the Gateway. The Ambassador carries most of the $100 billion in trade crossing the border at Detroit each year.

DRIC has continued its study while acknowledging that the Ambassador Bridge, as a private company, has the right to move forward.

Canada's concerns

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality recently approved two permits for the new Ambassador, one for a storm sewer upgrade and another for the bridge crossing. The company also seeks state approval for $1 billion in tax-exempt bonds.

Plenty of hurdles remain. Canada is uneasy about putting another major international crossing in the hands of a private, for-profit company. The Southeast Michigan Council of Governments will likely have to include the project in its long-range transportation plan, so that SEMCOG can determine whether the project conforms to federal air quality standards, said SEMCOG's transportation chief Carmine Palombo. The bridge company would also have to get local building permits from Detroit and Windsor.

Ideally, siting an important international crossing should not be determined by who digs first.

That said, building and operating the bridge with private money in these tough times has some appeal. In any case, a parallel span at the Ambassador site would end the need for another crossing. Michigan officials should waste no more time and money planning for another bridge until they know whether or not the new Ambassador will take care of it for them.