Detroit Bridge Wars

[Stephane Dumas]

Here some photos showing the 2 towers of the Gordie Howe bridge posted on Skyscraperpage.
https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/showpost.php?p=9593348&postcount=1321

[JREwing78]

The Ambassador Bridge is back in the news for hazmat material shipments, despite Gov. Whitmer's veto of a law in 2020 that would've allowed those shipments. On October 29th, MDOT is slated to start allowing that traffic on the Ambassador Bridge, unless the Canadians impose their own restrictions.

This comes after the Windsor-Detroit truck ferry (previously the only legally approved crossing for hazmat in the area) went out of business last September. The Blue Water Bridge currently allows class 3 flammables and class 8 corrosive hazmat to be transported across it, and the Gordie Howe is planned to allow those materials as well. MDOT will not allow hazmat transport on the Ambassador during "peak transit hours" and will require a vehicle escort.

MDOT opened a 6-month public comment period in November 2023 after the Detroit International Bridge Co (aka the Mouron family business and owners of the Amabassador) requested regulators allow hazardous material transport over the Amabassador. MDOT reported more than 80 letters from business owners, elected officals, and the general public. MDOT also conducted a risk analysis study in 2021 regarding the issue. It can be found at: https://www.michigan.gov/mdot/-/media/Project/Websites/MDOT/Projects-Studies/Studies/Additional-Studies/Hazardous-Materials-Routing/2023-Study.pdf?rev=63bdde06b82342b3b0493458a3f963bb&hash=217A9BCAEEF833E59990A0EF8388053E

That news has many folks in Windsor angry. The Windsor City Council voted unanimously to support local MP Brian Masse's efforts to keep hazmat materials off the 95 year old bridge. The city is also sending a letter to Masse and to Canadian federal Transport Minister Anita Anand expressing concern about the Amassador's ability legally to allow hazmat without approval from Transport Canada.

For its part, Transport Canada says it doesn't have the authority over MDOT's decision to allow the hazmat traffic, but "will closely monitor any developments stemming from this should they fall under the scope of its mandate or impact Canadian safety and security regulations."

Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens was not impressed - he called Transport Canada's claim of no authority "really hard to believe" and "unconscionable". Transport Canada, Dilkens continued, "can issue orders to the Amassador Bridge - they've done it before when there was falling concrete, where there had been other issues that have been deemed safety issues. At the end of the day, what we really want is a continuance of the restriction that is in place."

Windsor's executive director of operations, Shawna Boakes, stated that the city is looking at its own roadway restrictions, and that she's reached out to Ontario's MTO (Ministry of Transportation) to determine what steps the city can legally take.

MP Masse, in a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and then-Transport Minister Rodriguez earlier this month, says he will continue to object to MDOT's hazmat allowance until the Canadian government proves the change won't be a public safety issue, or a risk to the environment or economy. 

 "This decision appears to be rather suspicious given we are mere months away from the Gordie Howe International Bridge being open, and that will have the highest standards to deal with these substances," Masse wrote.

Detroit Free Press - MDOT to allow some flammable, corrosive materials to cross Ambassador Bridge
https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2024/08/30/mdot-flammable-corrosive-goods-to-be-allowed-on-ambassador-bridge/75019055007/

Windsor Star - 'Unconscionable' — Windsor demands Transport Canada fight Ambassador Bridge hazmat permit
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/unconscionable-windsor-demands-transport-canada-fight-ambassador-bridge-hazmat-permit/ar-AA1r7Y93

[vdeane]

Windsor sounds like they're being overly dramatic NIMBYs.  They might have a point if the Gordie Howe was open already, but it isn't, and forcing hazmats to detour all the way to the Blue Water Bridge for the next year isn't practical, especially given the construction up there causing massive delays.  Sure, revisit once the Gordie Howe is open, but I suspect the issue will be moot by then, because why would anyone want to use the crossing where they're time limited and require an escort when they could just cross normally at the Gordie Howe?

[cbeach40]

Windsor sounds like they're being overly dramatic NIMBYs.  They might have a point if the Gordie Howe was open already, but it isn't, and forcing hazmats to detour all the way to the Blue Water Bridge for the next year isn't practical, especially given the construction up there causing massive delays.  Sure, revisit once the Gordie Howe is open, but I suspect the issue will be moot by then, because why would anyone want to use the crossing where they're time limited and require an escort when they could just cross normally at the Gordie Howe?

The main issues are that the Ambassador Bridge does not have the infrastructure in place to contain spills like the GHIB will and the Blue Water Bridge does. So a spill there would have serious concern for drinking water safety.

HazMat shipments are so restricted as to the routes they take that time sensitivity isn't anywhere close to a deciding factor for routing. If the issue were the construction related delays at the BWB then the timing makes no sense - the BWB is supposed to fully reopen October 22nd and the new HazMat rules on the Ambassador don't come into effect until October 29th.