Bridge study team survives budget cuts; work to continue

 LANSING, Mich., — The Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC) study has been given a lifeline by Michigan lawmakers.

Proponents of a new publicly controlled bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ont. had feared that the ongoing process to select and build the span across the Detroit River could come crashing to a halt Wednesday.

A group of state politicians, led by Republican Senator Alan Cropsey, had been pushing for a budget amendment that would have killed state funding for DRIC, the binational team of bureaucrats charged with selecting the new bridge site. The group wants the private owners of the Ambassador Bridge to finish twinning that structure first.

Cropsey has said it’s "lunacy" to spend tax dollars on DRIC when the Ambassador Bridge is forging ahead with its own plan to add a new six-lane span.

However, after several hearings, House and Senate lawmakers agreed on language in the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) budget that would keep DRIC afloat.

The bill allows DRIC to perform certain activities that do "not bind the state. Approved work includes getting applications for permits and approvals, preliminary design engineering work, preliminary utility planning and relocation, and preliminary financial and funding arrangements.

The decision changes little of DRIC’s current functions. Language in the bill stipulates that the MDOT cannot commit to a single construction agreement, but state approval for any building activity was already a requirement under DRIC’s mandate.

The MDOT is also required to report on a quarterly basis to both the house and senate appropriations committees on any "expenditures relative to the process." Also, lawmakers must be notified within 30 days in advance of any property acquisition purchases.

The ongoing dispute had also threatened the state’s road budget for over 130 construction and highway connection projects near the border. Those projects will now go ahead.