(The following article by R.J. King was posted on the Detroit News website on November 5.)
DETROIT — A third border crossing between Detroit and Windsor that would put a truck-only tunnel and a new rail tunnel under the Detroit River could boost the local economy and save the shipping industry up to $1.8 billion annually, according to a new study.
The owner of the Ambassador Bridge, however, contests the report commissioned by the Detroit River Tunnel Partnership. That group wants to build the $430 million tunnel project near downtown. The report, released Tuesday, says the tunnel project would reduce traffic delays.
The bridge is competing with the tunnel project to gain U.S.-Canadian approval for a third border crossing. The new tunnels are backed by Wayne County, the Canadian Pacific Railway and others.
The tunnel project would be financed privately by the partnership, consisting of Canadian Pacific Railway and Borealis Transportation Infrastructure Trust, a subsidiary of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System. The partnership owns the existing railroad tunnel.
U.S. government funds would not be sought for construction of the tunnel, although some public money might be needed for road surface improvements, Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano said.
The project could create 1,450 construction jobs and could be completed in five years — far sooner than the time needed to build a second bridge, and quickly enough to head off the potential loss of 9,000 to 12,000 automotive jobs in the Detroit and Windsor areas, the study said.
U.S. and Canadian officials for the last three years have been looking at options to add more border crossings.
Next spring, the two governments are expected to choose between the tunnel project or adding another span to the bridge.
In 2001, the Ambassador Bridge and the other border crossing — Detroit-Windsor tunnel — accounted for $147.5 billion in trade, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
“If we add a third border crossing, it would lead to manufacturing expansions on both sides of the border,” said Michael H. Belzer, author of the partnership study and professor of urban and labor studies at Wayne State University.
The six-month study states “for commercial motor freight, the Ambassador Bridge is operating at about 92 percent of optimal design capacity, far closer to saturation capacity than previously believed.”
The Ambassador Bridge contests the figure, stating current car and truck capacity on the four-lane bridge is around 58 percent. Built in 1929, the bridge is owned by Centra Inc. in Warren.
Bridge officials contend there’s no need for a third crossing now and that in the future they plan to build a second span over the Detroit River, based on traffic demand.
“The partnership study fails to differentiate between road capacity and inspection capacity,” said Mickey Blashfield, spokesman for the Ambassador Bridge. “The lack of inspection facilities at the bridge is the choke point.”
There are 10 U.S. Customs booths at the Ambassador Bridge, with four more expected by the end of the year.
Scott Williams, a car hauler for Allied Automotive Systems in Dearborn, said he loses up to $200 a week from inspection delays at the bridge.
“It can take up to five hours sometimes to get across the bridge,” Williams said. Something needs to be done.”