CHICAGO — Work is set to begin this summer on a controversial $3.3 billion bridge between Michigan and Canada.
The New International Trade Crossing will add a second span over the Detroit River between Detroit and Windsor, the busiest trade crossing in the U.S., joining the existing Ambassador Bridge as well as the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel.
"This isn't a dream anymore, it's going to happen," Michigan Department of Transportation director Kirk Steudle was quoted as saying last week in local reports.
Demolition and other initial work is expected to begin on the span despite the fact that President Barack Obama failed to include money for the bridge in his budget proposal released last week. Michigan officials, including Gov. Rick Snyder, had hoped the federal budget would include $250 million for the project.
State officials said they still hope to get a federal commitment to the dollars.
The bridge has taken years of planning by both Michigan and Canada. The bridge is structured as a public-private partnership, with Canada taking on nearly all of the financial risk.
The agreement calls for Canada to make availability payments to the private firms, with the expectations that tolls will provide most of the revenue.
An intergovernmental authority will likely issue tax-exempt debt for the bridge and related construction. The agreement calls for Canada to spend $2.3 billion, the private partners to invest $950 million and U.S. federal government to provide $237 million. Canada will pay Michigan $550 million that the state can use as local matching dollars for more than $2 billion of federal funding.
The new crossing, strongly opposed by the private owners of the Ambassador Bridge, bitterly divided Michigan legislators for years.
Snyder has repeatedly promised that no Michigan taxpayer money will be used for the bridge and that investors will no recourse to the state's coffers if — as critics predict — toll revenue proves insufficient to pay off the debt.
