Bridge Blockers
February 19, 2010The Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce, that stalwart defender of private enterprise, wants a new, internationally controlled bridge built between the United States and Canada.
So does Governor Jennifer Granholm, her political opposite, Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, and the governments of Windsor, Ontario and Canada.
This year, we should learn if one will be built.
MDOT, the Michigan Department of Transportation, released a new study this week that it said confirms the need for a new bridge over the Detroit River. Today, there is only one — the Ambassador Bridge, which was built in 1929, is showing serious signs of wear, and which is owned by one man, Manuel J. “Matty” Moroun.
For years, a binational, private-public coalition called the Detroit River International Crossing Project (or DRIC, for short) has been planning for a new bridge, to be built two miles south of the Ambassador and subject to oversight by both nations.
The need for a new internationally controlled bridge has been spurred by the realization that the current bridge over the Detroit River is both nations’ single most important international trade connection. As much as one-quarter of all trade between the countries comes across the Ambassador, much of it heavy components needed in the auto industry.
That amounts to a staggering $115 billion in trade a year. This cargo cannot go through the Detroit-Windsor tunnel, and there is no other bridge closer than Port Huron. The Ambassador Bridge is showing signs of age, and has serious security and other concerns.
If something happened to knock out the bridge, the economies of Michigan and Ontario could be plunged into depression.
With that much at stake, with new plans ready, and wide agreement across the political spectrum, is a new bridge certain?
Well, maybe not. Two men stand in the way.
One is, not surprisingly, Moroun, a reclusive, 82-year-old billionaire who has been savagely fighting any new bridge, using methods both legal and, according to the courts, illegal.
His motives are clear: preserving his monopoly. What motivates the other enemy of a new bridge is more baffling, however.
He is Michigan Senate Majority Floor Leader Alan Cropsey (R-DeWitt), whose Lansing-area district is far removed from the Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit River.
Matty Moroun has been known to contribute heavily to the campaigns of politicians he wants to influence, but it isn’t clear that he has been a big donor to Cropsey, who, because of term limits, has to leave the Senate at the end of this year.
What is clear, however, is that Cropsey has been the Ambassador Bridge’s strongest champion in the legislature, fighting even attempts to study the need for a new bridge, which he calls a “boondoggle.” Over and over again, he has sought to kill funding for a new bridge, saying Michigan can’t afford it and that Moroun should be allowed to “twin” his bridge. In fact, the billionaire’s Detroit International Bridge Co. has begun preliminary work on that — even though Canada flatly opposes it and neither government has granted the needed permits.
Kirk Steudle, an engineer and civil servant who is now MDOT’s director, thinks a new bridge is essential for traffic, safety and security reasons. He is urging the Michigan Legislature to approve financing to begin work on the DRIC bridge by June 1. He predicts the project would create at least 10,000 good-paying construction jobs during the four or more years it would take to build a new bridge.
The next move is up to the legislature. However, the owner of the Ambassador Bridge has suffered several setbacks in recent weeks that have won him some unfavorable publicity.
Earlier this month a Wayne County Circuit judge ruled that he had illegally constructed a duty-free store and gas pumps on land owned by the City of Detroit — and ordered him to remove them. Evidently, they were built in anticipation of his being allowed to build a second bridge. Last fall, another Wayne County judge ruled that Moroun had illegally occupied and fenced off part of a Detroit city park and ordered him to vacate it within 90 days.
But he has not done so, and belatedly filed an appeal. Opponents of the trucking magnate also note that he also owns what may be Michigan’s biggest eyesore — the vast hulking ruin of the Michigan Central Depot train station, in south Detroit right off I-75.
For years, Moroun has refused to renovate or demolish it, so it just sits there, trashed by vandals and teenagers.
Now, the legislature needs to decide whether allowing him to continue to have sole control over the nation’s most economically important border crossing makes sense.
National Emmy Award winning veteran journalist Jack Lessenberry teaches at Wayne State University, serves as Michigan Radio’s senior political analyst and writes regularly for several publications. He also serves as The Toledo Blade’s writing coach and ombudsman and is host of the weekly television show Deadline Now on WGTE-TV in Toledo.
7 responses so far ↓
1 Straightup // Feb 19, 2010 at 4:24 am
An obvious question: Did Mr. Lessenberry bother to sit down w/ Senator Cropsey?
Judging by the lack of facts in this piece, the answer is ‘no’.
Note to Mr. Lessenberry: if it is your opinion–as it is Canada’s–that ‘government’ ownership is best, than be honest and just say so. There is no need to condemn a member of our Legislature simply because he has done his homework and reached a different conclusion.
2 JoeBlog // Feb 19, 2010 at 6:26 am
Jack, you are everywhere these days writing essays attacking Moroun. But you do have to present the facts.
The Governor said that the Ambassador Bridge new bridge was her #1 priority but for Canada.
Did you expect MDOT’s report to deny that there was enough traffic Geez. As you know it was not an investment grade traffic study but a “refresher” on a two-year old report that has never been released to the public. It was prepared by Canada, who is Moroun’s opponent too!
The MDOT report showed that DRIC made a 10% traffic number error in their EIS if you can believe that. They were that much out in under 2 years . It is another in a series of traffic projection mistakes made by DRIC overstating traffic volumes which are back to 1999 levels and sinking fast.
Seriously, you cannot be supporting P3 rip-offs of taxpayers! Oh my. That is how the DRIC bridge financing is to be structured
Here are some other facts for you Jack.
The Governments could have bought the Bridge from Warren Buffett years ago for $30M plus a dollar, but did not.
The Governments did not build up the business to make it the #1 border crossing in North America. Moroun did.
The Governments twinned the Blue Water Bridge and kept tolls low there for years to take business away from him but screwed up the plaza design so that MDOT has to spend a half billion dollars to fix it. (They just raised their tolls too by the way) Instead, Moroun takes business from them because he does not have the truck line-ups they do.
He and MDOT formed a “true” public/private partnership to build the Ambassador Gateway project which was designed to accommodate a second bridge. Moroun has spent $500M of his money so far on doing what all the Governments expected him to do since the 1990′s: build his bridge.
Now the Governments want to change the rules mid-stream and want to terrorize him so that he will sell out cheaply. eg IBTA.
Jack, I wonder if you would turn the other cheek and knuckle under. Clearly he isn’t!
3 straightshooter // Feb 19, 2010 at 6:36 am
The decision is not which bridge to build. The Moroun project is not an option. There is only one project that has the support, permits and approval of all the government agencies involved.
We are not going to force the Canadian government, Ontario government and the city of Windsor to accept a bridge or build a plaza in a location that is problematic and nonsensical.
The Delray location is a compromise that works for both countries. It provides added security and the additional lanes of traffic that the Michigan economy needs to continue as the number one international crossing.
It will also provide a direct connection from I-75 to Hwy 401 in Canada.
Either we build the DRIC or we build nothing at all and kiss good-bye 10,000 jobs and put another stake into the heart of Michigan’s economy.
4 Why Matty Moroun Should Be Stopped From Obstructing The Development of A Second International Bridge Between Detroit and Windsor - The Detroit Blog - TIME.com // Feb 19, 2010 at 11:49 am
[...] read an excellent column by the big homie Jack Lessenberry at Dome about the ongoing struggle to build a new international [...]
5 Nicole // Jul 24, 2010 at 1:05 pm
Manuel J. “Matty” Moroun is a financial rapist.
6 William Forsyth // Nov 21, 2010 at 9:30 pm
I would think that Matty Moroun at age 82, would be less concerned about continuing to amass his considerable fortune, and be more conscious of Michigan’s ailing economy. However he seems to defy all efforts to ensure that trade is maintained on both sides of the border.
7 stuffy smith // Mar 19, 2011 at 12:09 am
Ok, I don’t live in MI, wont pay for this and will likely only marginally use it. So you will no doubt discount my opinion, i get it
Having said that opponents of the bridge are nuts, they lack foresight and makes me understand why this state is lagging behind the US in job creation and economic development. Look a bridge promotes trade, trade jobs, jobs an economy. This region has one economy and really it is going to the dogs. Here is the thing think outside the box plan for a new day. Your city is being junked by a guy who has a multistory building that is deteriorating and is now he wants to choke the city so he and his heirs can make a profit. I don’t care who builds it, he can build it for all i care, but it needs a new location, new security and more controls. Surely, people can see that all these tv ads are no more or less a plea for more money for him. If he wants to save the city money>? tear down the dam dump he owns or better yet renovate it. Why would anyone listen to him so long as he controls and refuses to deal with that mess?
Leave a Comment:
Be sure to put in the security words and hit SUBMIT