Lt. Gov. Brian Calley is scheduled to meet with the Detroit City Council this afternoon to discuss a proposed new bridge that would span the Detroit River. Governor Snyder is pushing for the new bridge which would connect Detroit to Windsor, Ontario. Many state Republican lawmakers oppose the plan, known as the New International Trade Crossing. The owner of the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Detroit to Ontario, and is the busiest international trade crossing in North America, opposes the plan as well. He wants to build a new span of his own.
As the Detroit Free Press explains this morning, “…just about everyone involved in Michigan's great bridge debate supports building some new bridge to replace or supplement the Ambassador. The question boils down to who would build it and own it -- Ambassador owner Manuel (Matty) Moroun as a private businessman or the citizens of Michigan and Canada through public authorities.”
As the Associated Press notes:
Gov. Rick Snyder and many businesses want to build a new Detroit-Windsor bridge to aid passenger and commercial traffic. It would be backed by private investors, and Michigan would rely on $550 million from Canada for related improvements.
It's likely Calley will use the meeting to try to gain support from the City Council for the New International Trade Crossing.
Michigan Radio's Political Analyst Jack Lessenberry has been writing extensively over the years about the bridge controversy:
- Selling the Bridge, June 30th, 2011
- Beyond the Law?, June 9th, 2011
- Canada and the Bridge, May 26th, 2011
- Truth in Advertising, April 12th, 2011
