Can I say it again? I will any way.
Infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure.
This should help goods flow easier and cheaper. Just what ON manufacturers need.
After years of wrangling and debate, Canada and Michigan finally announced a deal Friday to build a second bridge linking Detroit and Windsor, at a cost of as much as $4 billion.
A beaming Prime Minister Stephen Harper delivered the news in Windsor with politicians from both sides of the border in attendance including Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder.
“I do a lot of announcements as you know, but this is a really big one,” Harper said, noting $120 billion worth of goods crossed this river last year. “This new bridge is an investment in the future, in the North American economy, North American trade and manufacturing.”
Trade between Canada and U.S. was nearly $645 billion in 2010.
But businesses and companies have long complained about delays and bumper-to-bumper traffic along the Ambassador Bridge, which dates back to 1929.
“It’s been a long road to get to this day, with even more stops and starts than on Huron Church Rd.,” said Canadian Trucking Alliance president David Bradley, referring to the 16 stoplights truckers face on the Windsor road leading to the current bridge crossing. “So we are thrilled the new crossing will become a reality.”
Ron Watkins of the Canadian Steel Producers Association also welcomed the news, saying the project will require hundreds of millions of dollars worth of steel and steel products. And smoother crossings will help the automotive industry, a key user of steel.
Construction on the Detroit River International Crossing, which includes the bridge, U.S. and Canadian inspection plazas and an interchange with Interstate 75, will take four to five years. Total construction costs are valued at between $3.5 billion and $4 billion.
It will be built through a public-private partnership, with a projected 10,000 to 15,000 construction jobs on both sides of the border.
Harper argued this faster border crossing will boost investment to create jobs along the Windsor-Quebec City corridor as well as Michigan.“When the train comes in everybody rides,” he said.
But hurdles remain including whether Manuel “Matty” Moroun, the billionaire owner of the Ambassador Bridge, will mount a legal challenge to block the new bridge.
His Detroit International Bridge Co., which has floated the idea of adding a span of its own, launched a vocal TV advertising campaign to oppose the Canadian-financed bridge. It also wants a referendum held on whether voters want the bridge built.
The Republican-controlled Legislature approved a bill that bars Snyder from spending state money on a U.S.-Canada bridge.
As result, Michigan will repay Canada for its share of costs through tolls that will eventually be collected.
Infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure.
This should help goods flow easier and cheaper. Just what ON manufacturers need.
After years of wrangling and debate, Canada and Michigan finally announced a deal Friday to build a second bridge linking Detroit and Windsor, at a cost of as much as $4 billion.
A beaming Prime Minister Stephen Harper delivered the news in Windsor with politicians from both sides of the border in attendance including Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder.
“I do a lot of announcements as you know, but this is a really big one,” Harper said, noting $120 billion worth of goods crossed this river last year. “This new bridge is an investment in the future, in the North American economy, North American trade and manufacturing.”
Trade between Canada and U.S. was nearly $645 billion in 2010.
But businesses and companies have long complained about delays and bumper-to-bumper traffic along the Ambassador Bridge, which dates back to 1929.
“It’s been a long road to get to this day, with even more stops and starts than on Huron Church Rd.,” said Canadian Trucking Alliance president David Bradley, referring to the 16 stoplights truckers face on the Windsor road leading to the current bridge crossing. “So we are thrilled the new crossing will become a reality.”
Ron Watkins of the Canadian Steel Producers Association also welcomed the news, saying the project will require hundreds of millions of dollars worth of steel and steel products. And smoother crossings will help the automotive industry, a key user of steel.
Construction on the Detroit River International Crossing, which includes the bridge, U.S. and Canadian inspection plazas and an interchange with Interstate 75, will take four to five years. Total construction costs are valued at between $3.5 billion and $4 billion.
It will be built through a public-private partnership, with a projected 10,000 to 15,000 construction jobs on both sides of the border.
Harper argued this faster border crossing will boost investment to create jobs along the Windsor-Quebec City corridor as well as Michigan.“When the train comes in everybody rides,” he said.
But hurdles remain including whether Manuel “Matty” Moroun, the billionaire owner of the Ambassador Bridge, will mount a legal challenge to block the new bridge.
His Detroit International Bridge Co., which has floated the idea of adding a span of its own, launched a vocal TV advertising campaign to oppose the Canadian-financed bridge. It also wants a referendum held on whether voters want the bridge built.
The Republican-controlled Legislature approved a bill that bars Snyder from spending state money on a U.S.-Canada bridge.
As result, Michigan will repay Canada for its share of costs through tolls that will eventually be collected.
:lol:
