New bridge ‘only game in town’: county official

DETROIT — A Detroit official is declaring that the Ambassador Bridge‘s continuing project to twin its current crossing "just ain’t going to happen."

Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson — who this week held a joint press conference with Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis welcoming the recent announcement to build a new, separate bridge 3 km downriver of the Ambassador — told the Detroit News that plans for a new bridge "is the only game in town and it’s a good one."

The bridge, which would link southwest Windsor and the suburb of Delray, Mich., was officially announced by the Detroit River International Crossing Study (DRIC) last month.

"The DRIC Downriver Border Crossing is the absolutely best alternative because it will significantly ease traffic congestion between Detroit and Windsor, thus enhancing the ability of companies on both sides of the river to get their products to market in a timely and efficient manner," Patterson said.

Patterson and Francis indicated that much of the traffic and pollution-related problems of both border cities are due to an aging infrastructure.

Mickey Blashfield of the Detroit International Bridge Company, which owns and operates the Ambassador, was displeased with the press conference, adding that is was based on misinformation, according to the paper.

"I wish it was more factually based. The mayor of Windsor has his conflicts in that he would rather dump Detroit neighborhoods overboard," he said.

The bridge company and other critics argue that the new $1.6 billion bridge would uproot the impoverished Delray neighborhood. Proponents counter, however, that a new bridge would spin-off badly-needed jobs for the area.