John D. Boyd | Jun 02, 2011 10:57AM EDT
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder called on his state’s legislature to approve plans to build a new toll bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ont., a structure he said could boost an already robust flow of trade in that corridor.
“Let’s get this done now,” Snyder said from the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, pointing to the nearby Mackinac Bridge as an example of what can be achieved. “Now it's time to build a new bridge to Canada that will provide efficient and reliable infrastructure to the largest trading partner of Michigan and America."
If the project goes forward, it would be a victory over owners of the Ambassador Bridge nearby, who have fought off earlier attempts to build another bridge over the Detroit River to carry commercial trucks to and from Canada. The heavily used structure carries more than 25 percent of goods trade between the two countries.
Snyder said 49 percent of Michigan’s exports already go across to Windsor, and that approval for the Detroit-Windsor bridge, called the New International Trade Crossing, would quickly generate 10,000 Michigan construction jobs.
Separately, the majority leader in Michigan’s Senate introduced legislation that would allow the state to accept up to $550 million from Canada for Michigan’s costs of building access ramps and other facilities. The state could use that money to win some U.S. matching funds as well, backers say.
-- Contact John D. Boyd at jboyd@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter @jboydjoc.
