The Michigan Supreme Court Friday handed state transportation officials a victory when it upheld a ruling requiring Manuel Moroun, the owner of the Ambassador Bridge, to rebuild the ramps and approaches leading to the span. The ruling could pave the way for forcing Maroun to conform to designs by the Michigan Department of Transportation.
The Ambassador Bridge is the only bridge to span the Detroit River between the U.S. and Canada. The ruling is part of a larger battle between Maroun and state officials. Both sides are pushing forward with plans to build new spans just a few miles apart on the river to capture traffic on the trade route, the busiest in the U.S.
The high court’s ruling came two days after the Legislature’s Democratic-controlled House narrowly approved a bill supporting the planned state bridge, which would cost an estimated $2.3 billion.
The bill is expected to face more opposition in the Republican-controlled Senate, where opponents argue taking on new debt is unnecessary in light of Maroun’s privately financed plan. Top Democrats, including Gov. Jennifer Granholm, argue that a new public bridge is needed to accommodate future traffic.
The court battle is part of a dispute over Maroun’s ramps and approaches linking local freeways to the Ambassador Bridge, which do not conform to the state’s specifications, according to a report in the Detroit Free Press. Maroun’s company, the Detroit International Bridge Co., issued a statement after the ruling saying other appeals are still possible.
