World's Richest Horse Race

Pssssssst... Hey there you, that's right you. Want an inside tip on a horse race? I know a jockey!

Is the richest horse race the Triple Crown in the US, the Queen's Plate in Canada, the Dubai World Cup or perhaps The Grand National in the UK?

None of the above: it is the 2 horse race between the Bridge Co. and DRIC for a new crossing between Canada and the US at Windsor-Detroit where the stakes are very high.

What, you did not know about the race? Where were you hiding? You were too tied in to the All-Star game or Super Bowl or Wrestlemania or now the Detroit Grand Prix to keep in touch with this big sports event. The media coverage has been ongoing for years!

To be honest, I did not know about the big race either until recently. All I read now about is a "race." I guess the project is a horse of a different colour with the Bridge Co. and DRIC jockeying for position!

Then I remembered, my inside mole at the Star tried to give me a "heads-up" about it a few days ago. Remember that story where the headline did not spell the Bridge owner's name correctly. I should have known something was up and recognized the signal but I missed it:

• "Bridge in $1B bond bid
  Maroun launches application in race to build twin span
  
  Ambassador Bridge owner Matty Moroun has launched an application to U.S. federal authorities for $1 billion in Private Activity Bonds (PABs) for his twin span proposal.
  
  The bridge’s application is the latest move by Moroun in the escalating race to build the next Windsor-Detroit crossing and protect his US$60 million in annual revenues.
  
  The transportation mogul is competing with a government-backed process seeking to build its own separate downriver crossing in an industrial corridor linking Sandwich and Delray."

The Star had been given the scoop by their Michigan leakors or their Canadian contacts who seemed to like to have stories break in Windsor first to get coverage.

Then the Free Press Editorial:

• "Suspend a wasteful race
  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."

Then the Star again:

• "They also fear construction of a secondary truck plaza would further aid the bridge's goal to twin its crossing and win the race to build the next Windsor-Detroit bridge.

Then it became "official" in the Detroit News as an MDOT official talked about it on the record:

• "The race to build another bridge from Detroit to Windsor -- North America's busiest commercial crossing -- is heating up...
  
  The private owners of the 78-year-old Ambassador Bridge have received Michigan's environmental blessing, snapped up $400 million in land and say they're ready to erect a twin span over the Detroit River as soon as U.S. and Canadian officials sign off.
  
  A public crossing, meanwhile, has progressed from pipe dream to action, as Michigan Department of Transportation officials test the ground strength in southwest Detroit for bridge supports and discuss potential relocation plans with area businesses. Canadian officials are working in lockstep.
  
  The scramble makes some wonder whether two bridges would be built.
  
  "It's absurd to have these projects going on at the same time"We at least need a moratorium on one of them."
  
  While that's not likely to happen, the state's leader of the public project, MDOT's Mohammed Alghurabi, said only one span will be successful. The private plan is further along in the process.
  
  "We've been clear that the intent is not to have two bridges," Alghurabi said. "If the Detroit International Bridge Co. were to succeed (in getting cleared for construction), then the (public project) will not continue."

I do not feel so bad about it however. Even the Governments of Canada and Ontario did not know there was a race going on and still do not. Here is what the Governments' spokespersons said a year ago:

• "Windsor Star 04-27-2006
  Ambassador Bridge officials are pushing forward with plans to build a twin span and have killed a controversial feeder road through Windsor's west end.
  
  Owner Matty Moroun's bridge "Enhancement Project" calls for a new six-lane cable-stayed bridge metres west of the existing 77-year-old crossing, according to environmental assessment documents obtained Wednesday by The Star.
  
  The bridge company plans to use the same Huron Church Road access route and keep the new span contained within existing plazas and property it already owns…
  
  Transport Canada has been speaking with the bridge company about meeting dates and should be getting together sometime within the next few weeks, said spokesman Mark Butler.
  
  "We are obliged to take a look at any project that comes our way," he said.
  
  The federal ministry is a partner in the binational Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC) study, the government effort to determine the next crossing location.
  
  "There are two distinct proposals for a new crossing -- one by the private organization and one under consideration by four levels of government.
  
  "You can't characterize it as a race. They have to meet certain requirements. There are certain hurdles they have to cross."
  
  The binational team is no longer considering any proposal brought forward by the bridge company, said Dave Wake, project manager for DRIC.
  
  "Their recent submission is a separate process," he said.
  
  "We are proceeding as planned and are on target for our timelines. I've seen nothing to date to cause any changes in our timelines."
  
  Windsor Star 04-25-2006
  Spokesman Mark Butler of Transport Canada, one of the partners that make up the Detroit River International Crossing Project -- which is studying the options -- said the project isn't falling behind.
  
  "We have met every expectation and time frame so far," he said.
  
  Accelerating the time line beyond the current goal is unnecessary and illegal, given the strictly defined environmental requirements, he said.
  
  "We have completed needs and feasibility studies indicating a new crossing must be in place within the time frame of 2013 to 2015," said Butler. "In short, there is really no need to accelerate the process.... To do otherwise would risk lengthy legal challenges and other delays."

In fact, the other day, Mark Butler of Transport Canada confirmed on Melaine Deveau's show that there is the possibility of THREE bridges for our area. He said there was a need for at least one bridge. He said it was unfair to categorize what was going on as a race.

MDOT's Mohammed Alghurabi comment comes days after MDOT's consultant said "We do not know whether that second span of the Ambassador Bridge will happen. Nonetheless, it is believed (by Joe Corradino) that the market won’t support three bridges." Doesn't it seem like everyone at MDOT is trying to close the barn door, but the horse has already gone.

I wish the two sides would get together and figure out whether there is the need for a DRIC bridge when everyone knows that traffic is not growing and the Ambassdor Bridge's enhancement project will be completed three years before the DRIC bridge. If the issue is also redundancy, that can be solved both by reverse customs (I guess that is the real reason that it won't happen very quickly----the Ambassador Bridge could have it in place tomorrow so this argument would be lost) and by keeping the old bridge.

We had better run on down to Casino Windsor, or is it now Caesars Windsor, or whatever it's called, and place a bet in the new “Legends” sports lounge before it is too late and the betting windows close. I hear the Vegas bookies are handicapping the race this way:

1. The Ambassador Bridge would not destroy Sandwich and Delray (www.youtube.com and search "ambassador bridge" to see the video) while a DRIC bridge would disrupt hundreds of business and homes on both sides of the border


2. Governor Granholm has threatened to shutdown the Michigan Government because of budget difficulties, Ontario did not mention a penny for the border in its Budget and the Feds only put up 50% of the costs for a road to the bridge. Who can finance the project? A perfect Trifecta for the Brridge Co. isn't it


3. Windsor's Tunnel Plaza Improvement Project is in limbo while queuing is now permitted suggesting major money problems there now


4. Presidential permit is not needed by the Bridge Co. but is needed by DRIC


5. US Department of State has not given its concurrence for a new DRIC crossing in the central area even though asked to do so


6. Private and US taxpayer money have already been spent on the Ambassador Gateway project which would accommodate an Ambassador enhanced bridge so there would be no need to duplicate it a mile away


7. Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who supports the private project, says a public bridge is "unnecessary and unneeded."
   
   "The expectation that we sacrifice another neighborhood (and) duplicate the financial investment is unacceptable and creates bad public policy," Kilpatrick wrote in a Jan. 17 letter to Gov. Jennifer Granholm.


8. The Bridge Co. has already spent $500 million on purchasing properties for the project while DRIC has not yet started.


9. Spending by the Bridge Co. would earn Michigan billions in federal matching grants and Michigan would also not need to spend its money on the bridge project


10. Assuming fair competition, it is unlikely that any private investor would finance a public bridge without huge Government guarantees or payments since overly-optimistic traffic projections were wrong and the market-place cannot support three bridges


11. A new public P3 bridge could not compete against the lower cost Ambassador Bridge if there was fair competition resulting in its bankruptcy and financial hardship to all border crossings in the region


12. The DRIC road is similar to the City of Windsor's WALTS road which leads right to the Ambassador Bridge and can be fed by a Lauzon/E C Row connection to Highweay 401 which Windsor's Mayor needs for his transportation hub THINK BIG dream.

Hurry before the bookies figure a dozen points is too much and stop accepting bets.

Giddyup before the newspapers report fully on the ABPC that the Bridge Co. put in that quadruples truck capacity and that started working with Canada Customs on April, 1 to enhance border security.

Why lose out on a sure-thing bet! The old nag of the DRIC project may be destined for the glue factory.