Mr. Hope goes to Ottawa with plans for Chatham border crossing

CHATHAM, Ont. — Municipal officials in Chatman-Kent, Ont. will be lobbying Ottawa for another international bridge crossing linking southwestern Ontario and Michigan.

According to the Chatham Daily News, Chatham-Kent Mayor Randy Hope and Walpole Island First Nation Chief Joe Gilbert will be asking the feds to pony up for a new border crossing over the St. Clair River connecting Walpole Island to Michigan.

Gilbert said a new crossing at Walpole Island makes better sense than twinning the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor-Detroit — a project currently underway.

The concept of a bridge across the St. Clair River isn’t a new idea. It was discussed about 30 years ago. In fact, says, Gilbert, officials on both sides of the river were considered a bridge before twinning the Blue Water Bridge in Sarnia.

A bypass around Wallaceburg to divert truck traffic would likely need to be constructed as well, Hope told the paper.

Hope added that the new bridge would benefit all of Chatham-Kent including smaller municipalities, such as Dresden and Bothwell, which are located some distance from Highway 401.

An hour or so west on the 401, plans are underway to twin the privately owned Ambassador in Windsor-Detroit. A binational group of government officials have also been studying plans for a the construction of a new, separate bridge a few kilometers downriver.

— with files from the Chatham Daily News