Tag Archives: DRIC

Suits seen as unlikely roadblocks to bridge

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Permit in hand, but fight continues

By Bill Shea and Dustin Walsh

Crain’s Detroit Business

Legal challenges thrown up to block a second Detroit River bridge are more speed bumps than roadblocks, at least according to Gov. Rick Snyder.

The state “has a winning track record” in defeating such lawsuits, he said Friday after announcing the U.S. Department of State had approved the critical presidential permit needed to advance the $2.1 billion New International Trade Crossing linking the highways in Detroit and Windsor. And they won’t halt its construction.

TRADE CROSSING FAQS

• The New International Trade Crossing is estimated to cost $2.1 billion. The I-75 highway interchange was predicted in 2010 to cost $385.9 million, and the U.S. plaza, $413.6 million. The nearly $1 billion bridge itself would be financed by Canada through a private-sector concessionaire, and the remainder of the $2.1 billion price tag is on the Canadian side of the project.
• Canada has pledged to cover any construction and operational deficits. It also will cover all capital costs on the Michigan side of the project, including $264 million that project organizers want the U.S. government to pay for. If Ottawa and Washington can’t reach a deal on that cost, Canada will pay it.
• Under a deal reached in June 2012 among the Michigan, Ontario and Canadian federal governments, a Canadian company called the Crossing Authority will be in charge of the design, construction, finance, operation and maintenance of the six-lane bridge, which it is expected to bid out under public-private partnership deal to a private company for a 40- or 50-year concession.
• All of Michigan’s share of the crossing tolls will go to Canada to pay back its costs. The state will not receive any toll revenue until that money is paid back and after the concession agreement ends in four or five decades.
• Tolls will be determined by the private-sector concessionaire during the bidding process. However, the models used by MDOT to justify need for the new span are predicated on using the same toll rates as the Ambassador Bridge.
• The Crossing Authority will fall under a joint authority, and half the bridge will be owned by Michigan and half by Canada.
• The deal was swung by Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder with Canada to bypass the Michigan Legislature, which balked at approving any money for the bridge project because of concerns about its necessity — border traffic has declined since 2001 — and whether it would unfairly affect the competing privately-owned Ambassador Bridge.
• Backers tout the new jobs and increased trade they predict the span will fuel. Snyder said the project will create 12,000 direct jobs and as many as 31,000 indirect jobs.
• Supporters also say the bridge will eliminate a traffic bottleneck at the border, and provide redundancy for the Ambassador Bridge two miles away.
• The Detroit-Windsor border — which encompasses the bridge, a tunnel and ferries — is the busiest in North America and carries a quarter of all U.S. trade with Canada, which was $120 billion last year.

Source: State of Michigan, Crain’s research

“I view (such lawsuits) as unfortunate because it takes away resources from the state,” Snyder said after a news conference in Detroit at which he and others touted the permit and bridge project.

The leading opponent of the project is Ambassador Bridge owner Manuel “Matty” Moroun, the commercial trucking industrialist who has said the new span will bankrupt his bridge by taking lucrative commercial truck traffic. He’s owned the bridge since 1979.

Moroun’s Detroit International Bridge Co. and Canadian Transit Co. in February filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., against the U.S. and Canadian governments and other agencies, arguing they don’t have the authority to approve the bridge permit.

Mickey Blashfield, the DIBC’s director of governmental relations, declined to comment Friday.

Also suing to halt the project is State Rep. Fred Durhal, D-Detroit, who is challenging the state’s right to create the agreement it has with Canada that governs how the span will be built, owned and operated.

Durhal has links to Moroun: He previously received $7,000 in campaign contributions from the Moroun family, and his attorney, Godfrey Dillard, used to work for the Ambassador Bridge owner, MLive.com reported on April 9.

Observers say the lawsuits are last-gasp delaying tactics that have little hope of postponing the inevitable for more than a few months.

Click here to read the full story.

Editorial: Kerry should sign Detroit bridge permit

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State Department’s approval is the next step in what remains a contentious process to get second span built

The Detroit News

Remember that new bridge that’s scheduled to be built across the Detroit River to Windsor? After dominating the policy conversation for years in Michigan, not much has been said about the second span since last fall, when voters rejected a ballot proposal to block its construction.

It’s time to get things moving.

A good place to start would be for U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to sign the presidential permit necessary to begin construction. After Gov. Rick Snyder inked the deal with Canada last June, the proposed deal was sent to Washington for the State Department’s approval.

The approval process included a public comment period, which ended in early September, and then assessments from the usual suspects — the Environmental Protection Agency, the General Services Agency, National Security Council and the departments of Commerce, Homeland Security, Defense, Transportation, Justice and Treasury.

They all have weighed in, with no indication of concerns that would block the bridge. All that’s left is for Kerry to put his name on the permit.

Once that happens, the Canadian government, which is paying for the crossing, can begin acquiring land — not an easy task, since much of the property needed for the bridge is owned by litigious Ambassador Bridge owner Matty Moroun and will likely have to be obtained through the condemnation process — and doing preliminary site work. If the permit comes this spring and work isn’t held up by lawsuits, actual construction of the bridge could begin summer 2014.

But the lawsuits are a factor. Moroun has filed one in federal court in Washington, D.C., contending the agreement Snyder signed violates a contract he holds guaranteeing him the sole right to operate bridges across the Detroit River.

Another suit, filed by state Rep. Fred Durhal, D-Detroit, in Ingham County Circuit Court, challenges Snyder’s authority to bypass the Legislature and make the deal with Canada.

These suits and the ones that will surely emanate from land acquisition are bound to slow the building of the bridge, an endeavor that will create 13,000 to 20,000 construction jobs over the course of five years.

That makes getting an early start vital.

Kerry is new on the job and understandably has higher priorities — the Korean crisis, for example, and his effort to bring the Israelis and Palestinians to the negotiating table. And other projects have been waiting much longer for approval, most notably the Keystone XL oil pipeline, which has been on hold for five years.

But this bridge is one of the most important construction projects in the nation and has the potential to boost the economy not just with construction jobs, but by easing the trade route between the U.S. and Canada.

The State Department may be worried about stepping into the legal fight between Moroun and Snyder, and the federal lawsuit may be giving it some pause.

Michigan and the nation need this bridge. The sooner Kerry gives his OK, the sooner the next phase of the fight to get it built can begin.

Michigan Emerging As The Next Great Shipping Hub In North America

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Forbes.com

Natalie Burg, UPS

To some, the idea of Michigan emerging as the next big North American transportation and logistics hub sounds ridiculous.

“There hasn”t been any marketing of it,” said Jim Smiertka, senior vice president and general counsel of the East Lansing, Mich.-based Prima Civitas Foundation. “If you look at it, it”s a peninsula. A lot of people say, ‘How can Michigan be a logistics hub?’”

The Potential

But the doubters are missing a few important pieces of information, Smiertka said. First, the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron and Ambassador Bridge in Detroit are the two busiest US-Canadian border crossings. Through these, Michigan has access to the Halifax Deep Water Port and three other deep water ports along the St. Clair River at the Canadian border crossing. Additionally, the Canadian National Railway flows right into Port Huron, Michigan.

Smiertka said the widening of the Panama Canal is also creating a ripe opportunity for these ports; others around the country are not deep enough to accommodate docking super freighters.

“Halifax is a natural deep water port,” he said. “Then you have that direct connection with the CN and the interstate system right into the US and through into Mexico.”

The Movements

Smiertka said that more than 90 percent of the cargo that currently comes through Michigan continues right on through to Chicago without stopping. Prima Civitas Foundation has been working to change that, developing partnerships with municipalities, chambers of commerce and others.

One of these groups is The Great Lakes International Trade and Transport Hub, which aims to take advantage of the freight traffic to and from the Port of Halifax through Detroit and Port Huron — with Canadian partners in tow. The international partners met for a summit in 2011 to brainstorm ideas for improving trade between Canada and the Midwest. A seven-year action plan delivered to the governor included increasing collaborations between businesses and marketing the region.

A simultaneous economic development effort has been the creation of five aerotropolis zones, or Next Michigan Development Corporations. These districts are areas surrounding airports and collaborating municipalities now offer companies incentives to locate there. The largest of these cooperative agreements resulted in the I-69 International Trade Corridor.

The Benefits

The prospect of tens of thousands of new jobs and a new business sector is often the focus of the buzz, but Smiertka said the benefits of Michigan as the next major transportation and logistics hub go far beyond the state itself.

“It’s a value proposition for businesses,” he said. “If you go through Chicago, your freight will be delayed five days. In Michigan, it would take one day.”

The state also has one resource found nowhere else in the nation: the top talent. Michigan State’s undergraduate Supply Chain Management program ranks number one in the nation, according to US News & World Report, even outranking MIT. As a major partner in Great Lakes International Trade and Transport Hub, MSU’s influence is sure to put the movement on the right track, as well as fuel the burgeoning sector with talent.

Though Michigan’s evolution into a transportation and logistics hub may not happen overnight, it’s not far-off. The seven-year action plan is awaiting approval now, and according to Smiertka, all entities are ready to move forward.

“We’re all very hopeful,” he said. “There’s an enthusiasm around this I’ve never seen in my years of government work.”

With any luck, within a decade, that enthusiasm will translate into a change in the the flow of cargo in and out of North America, and give Michigan a new place in the world transportation and logistics network.

MOVING FORWARD 2013: New international bridge brings many benefits

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Press & Guide

By Raymond Basham
Guest Columnist

Editor’s note: This story is part of Heritage Media’s Moving Forward series. The series will take a look at some of the major issues facing our contiguous communities. This report focuses on transportation.

The construction of a new international bridge crossing between Detroit and Windsor is closer to reality after a long and involved political process.

Referred to as the New International Trade Crossing, the bridge project will serve to meet transportation needs of our entire region. This project will add extra lanes of traffic, easier access to main transportation arteries and greater capacity for security in customs and border functions. If all goes well, construction could begin as early as next year.

This issue first came to my attention during my time in the Michigan Legislature working as a state representative, and then a state senator. While serving as Senate minority vice chair of the Transportation Committee, I had the opportunity to study this project in great detail.

Now as a Wayne County commissioner, I serve on the board of directors for the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments and as a member of the Wayne County Committee on Public Services, which has oversight on the county’s transportation system. Economic development and transportation remain among my top priorities. I am a supporter of the new bridge project for several reasons, most of them involving the positive impact it will have on our economy through better commerce and new, good-paying jobs.

Supply vehicles that cross the United States into Canada can come all the way from Texas without hitting one red light until they get to our area. Traffic backups on our side getting to the privately owned existing bridge, coupled with a bottleneck on the Canadian side, cost American companies millions of dollars in losses each year.

Currently, we have only four lanes of traffic to carry vehicles from Detroit to Windsor and back again. Once they reach the Canadian side they are then confronted with the traffic and 16 stoplights it takes to reach the Highway 401 . We need to make freight movement more efficient if we are going to expand our region’s standing in the market.

Understanding our border problems and making it work as securely and efficiently as possible is exactly what prompted Michigan leaders in government and business to seek options. A new bridge providing a freeway-to bridge-to freeway system will serve to make commerce much more efficient.

In addition, this project means jobs. An estimated 10,000 direct jobs and 25,000 indirect jobs should result from this development. The bridge project will be initially funded with investment from the Canadian government and repaid with toll fees once it begins operation.

The NITC is supported by the American and Canadian governments, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and (both Democratic and Republican) former Govs. Jennifer Granholm, John Engler, James Blanchard and William Milliken.

Labor unions and their business counterparts alike understand the need for a new bridge including the United Auto Workers, the AFL-CIO, the Michigan Building and Construction Trades Council, the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, the Detroit Regional Chamber and the Southern Wayne County Regional Chamber.

The location in southwest Detroit just south of Fort Wayne, in what is known as Delray, has been discussed at hundreds of public hearings and meetings. This particular location meets with general public approval.

International trade opportunities provide economic drivers for growth and Michigan is perfectly situated to take advantage of our geographic location. Having only one bridge that is more than 80 years old is a detriment to southeastern Michigan. If we fail to act, the potential for economic growth could instead wind up in other regions like Buffalo, N.Y.

As it is, Buffalo provides 14 lanes of traffic for those crossing their border from the United States to Canada, compared to our four. They also are interested in building a new crossing. We need to get a head start on the competition by continuing our path toward Michigan’s economic resurgence and completing the new bridge as soon as possible.

Our region already boasts significant resources and opportunities for transportation. We have unique access to foreign markets through Wayne County Detroit Metropolitan Airport, which serves as a major global hub. Our road system, water ports and railways all contribute to our transportation infrastructure. The new bridge project will allow us to increase our capabilities and finally realize our full economic potential. At the same time, it will generate new jobs for our residents.

In my opinion, it’s a win-win for all.

Raymond Basham is a Wayne County commissioner in the 14th District, representing Brownstown Township, Flat Rock, Rockwood, Taylor and Woodhaven.

MOVING FORWARD: New International Trade Crossing will have huge implications for southeastern Michigan

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Advisor & Source (sourcenewspapers.com)

By Jim Kasuba
Journal Register News Service

DETROIT — After more than a decade of debate, public meetings and political campaigns for and against it, a new international bridge is on the horizon.

To be certain, the controversy over whether or not to build the New International Trade Crossing, a publicly funded bridge project between Windsor and Detroit, will continue until the first ceremonial shovel hits the ground, and most likely beyond that point.

But governments on both sides of the American-Canadian border have completed their due diligence and it appears only a matter of months until that ceremonial ground-breaking will take place about a mile south of the privately owned Ambassador Bridge, which also links the United States and Canada.

In November, Michigan voters roundly rejected Proposal 6, a ballot measure that would have required voter approval of any new state-backed international bridges or tunnels. That proposal went down in flames despite a huge spending gap between the Detroit International Bridge Co., which bankrolled the petition drive that put the measure on the ballot, and the anti-Proposal 6 group. By comparison, the $1 million spent by those against Proposal 6 was a paltry sum when going up against the $31.7 million the bridge company spent trying to convince voters to approve it.

Gov. Rick Snyder said in published reports that with the defeat of the proposal, the state can now begin to move forward on the NITC, which formerly went by the name of the Detroit River International Crossing, commonly referred to as DRIC.

The new bridge would connect Windsor’s 401 Highway and I-75 in Detroit’s Delray neighborhood. Those close to the project say the next step is to get a “presidential permit,” which could happen by summer. However, with all of the delays that have occurred up to this point, no one is placing bets on a timeline. Once bridge construction gets started, the project is anticipated to be completed within five to seven years.

Mohammed Alghurabi, who served as the Michigan Department of Transportation’s senior project manager of the project when it was known as DRIC, said it’s his understanding that the permit is expected to be approved, but the exact time frame is uncertain. The permit falls under the purview of the U.S. State Department.

“The biggest hurdle (in getting the presidential permit approved) is making sure all the ‘i’s are dotted and ‘t’s are crossed when it comes to environmental clearance,” Alghurabi said. “The No. 2 issue is that they want to know about the funding.”

Up to this point, one of the biggest obstacles to getting the project started has been Detroit International Bridge Co. owner Manuel “Matty” Moroun, who has vowed to continue fighting it.

Company spokesman Mickey Blashfield did not return a phone call and email seeking comment for this report.

However, shortly after voters failed to approve the DIBC-backed Proposal 6, Blashfield told The Detroit News that the fight over the new bridge would continue.

“If the governmental proposal doesn’t collapse from the weight of legal and legislative scrutiny, the unstable salt mine foundations (of Snyder’s bridge) will present some serious obstacles, which should call the entire project into question,” Blashfield said. “Similar and serious financial, legal and logistical questions have already been raised regarding the viability of the NITC — questions Gov. Snyder and his administration have still refused to answer directly.”

Government officials have dismissed the salt mine issue as baseless. The new bridge, if built, would compete with the DIBC-owned Ambassador Bridge and has been the source of contention between the state and Moroun’s company for years. There have been nearly 30 lawsuits between the two sides over either the NITC or issues at the Ambassador Bridge.

State Rep. Douglas Geiss (D-Taylor), who in January 2011 reintroduced legislation to authorize construction of the new bridge, doesn’t believe Moroun will put an end to his lawsuits anytime soon.

“No amount of data or facts will sway Matty Moroun’s argument,” Geiss said. “He will say or do anything to delay construction of a bridge. The longer he delays, the more money he makes.”

Geiss cited figures estimating that the Ambassador Bridge gains about $60 million per year for each year it’s the only bridge between Detroit and Windsor, which is one reason Moroun’s critics say the billionaire can easily afford attorney fees to keep fighting the NITC. However, those same critics believe spending on TV commercials, the seemingly never-ending court battles and donations to the campaigns of various politicians throughout the state are reasons it now costs $4.75 for a passenger car to cross the bridge, the fee that went into effect May 1, 2012.

Geiss uses the Mackinac Bridge, which connects Michigan’s Upper and Lower peninsulas, as a prime example of an authority that knows how to oversee a bridge.

“People say that an authority can’t run a bridge, but that’s how the Mackinac Bridge is run,” Geiss said. “The Mackinac Bridge is in top-notch condition. They do continual work on the bridge, they have an exemplary safety record and it’s a much more difficult bridge to maintain.”

He also added that it’s cheaper to use the Mackinac Bridge than it is to use the Ambassador Bridge. The current toll passenger cars pay for the Mackinac Bridge is $4 per car.

Featured prominently on the Ambassador Bridge’s website is an article by “Corps!,” a publication that brands itself “Everything Business.” In an article dated Sept. 8, 2011, Matthew Moroun, the son of the bridge’s owner and vice chairman of his family’s business, spoke out against a new bridge.

In the article, Moroun scoffed at the financial case made by Canadian and Michigan officials for the $2.1 billion NITC, calling it “political math,” adding that a taxpayer treasury is needed to make this kind of project work.

However, Geiss and other bridge proponents say the NITC will be built at no cost to Michigan taxpayers. Canada has agreed to front the cost of construction and expects to recoup that money through toll collections.

Geiss sees the fact that the Canadian government is willing to spend up to $550 million to cover the costs of the U.S. portion of the project as proof that it views this second bridge as critical.

But the money fronted by the Canadians goes much further when taking into consideration that the Federal Highway Administration is allowing Canada’s expenditure for the NITC project to be used to secure federal matching funds.

According to Alghurabi, the state of Michigan appears to be on solid ground in the funding area when it comes to its presidential permit application, since the Canadian government has agreed to front the money.

One argument the Ambassador Bridge owners have made against the proposed new bridge is that there isn’t enough traffic to support it. In the “Corps!” article, Moroun said that traffic peaked in 1999 when almost 12.4 million vehicles crossed the bridge. In 2010, that number was down to 7.2 million vehicles.

Assuming a 3 percent compound annual growth rate, it would take 19 years for the Ambassador Bridge to achieve its former peak.

Even with the projections being what they are, Moroun’s company still has plans to add a second span to the Ambassador Bridge, at a projected cost of $1 billion, that would add even more capacity. On the home page of the Ambassador Bridge’s website is a photo of the bridge as it looks today, along with an artist’s rendering of what it would look like with a second span, labeled “tomorrow.”

Moroun said his company hasn’t given up on the idea of a second span, and that it will take place “sometime in the future.” He added that when the second span is opened, the old span would undergo renovations before reopening to traffic. In terms of the economics, Moroun said it’s much more expensive to repair and rehabilitate the bridge when it’s under traffic load.

In the fall, Canadian Consul General Roy Norton spoke to the Dearborn Chamber of Commerce and to the Southern Wayne County Regional Chamber about the economic importance of a second bridge between the two major border cities.

Norton said the project is critical to maintaining the free flow of goods along the Detroit-Windsor corridor. One-quarter of the $689 billion in trade between Canada and the United States in 2011 passed over the Ambassador Bridge. Although not believed to be obsolete, the now 84-year-old bridge is the only freight crossing between Detroit and Windsor, with the next closest 60 miles to the north at the Blue Water Bridge, which crosses near Port Huron to Sarnia, Ontario.

Norton said the age of the Ambassador Bridge coupled with increasing tolls and traffic volume are the reasons Canada stepped up to finance a $550 million freeway interchange on the Michigan side of the NITC.

The Canadian government’s agreement to pay for cash-strapped Michigan’s portion of the project is one of the most unique aspects of the deal, and in all likelihood a second bridge would not be possible without it.

Norton said that since 1972, when Congress put the responsibility of U.S.-Canada border crossings on states rather than the federal government, every project has been jointly financed by the Canadian government and the state the crossing is in.

“Maintaining a death watch on an 83-year-old bridge and crossing our fingers for its eternal life didn’t seem like a very sound way to proceed,” Norton said.

He also answered critics who say another bridge isn’t necessary because traffic counts on the Ambassador Bridge are down. Norton said that while traffic counts are lower relative to all-time highs, they’re quickly rebounding from the global economic crisis of 2008 and are projected to continue growing.

But traffic issues aside, Norton said the critics’ argument doesn’t address that the Ambassador Bridge is aging and the fact that it is the sole crossing at the Detroit-Windsor trade nexus.

The DIBC has made public statements criticizing the use of public money to build a second international bridge, saying that it should be the private sector taking the lead. Norton said that, in fact, the bridge will be built and financed by a private contractor and in the event toll projections don’t live up to expectations, the Canadian government is the party that stands to lose.

Geiss also emphasizes the fact that this bridge is a public-private partnership. A private company will bid to build and maintain the bridge for a period of years, most likely a 30-year contract, he said.

“These companies believe they can recoup their investment, plus make a profit,” Geiss said. “The people of the state of Michigan can feel a further sense that they will not be in a position that they will have to pay back the cost of the bridge. If it is not a good business model, you would get zero proposals from private industry. We don’t expect that to happen. If you get three or four proposals, (the project) has been well-vetted.”

The other point to take into consideration, supporters say, is the bottleneck created at the Ambassador Bridge, especially at the Canadian side. Once the traffic reaches Windsor, drivers are faced with 16 stoplights before reaching the highway. Geiss said that would be akin to dropping off traffic on Telegraph Road in the Downriver area, using several miles of local roads and facing numerous traffic lights before reaching the freeway, tying up traffic along the way.

“You may not see it when you go to the bridge, but Ford, GM and Chrysler monitor that crossing,” Geiss said. “If it gets backed up, they will divert to the Blue Water Bridge or another crossing. The economic engine of Michigan and Ontario is tied to that crossing.”

Although the building of a second Detroit-Windsor bridge has far-reaching implications for the entire region, no particular group of residents will feel the impact more than the residents of Delray, the southwest Detroit neighborhood just north of River Rouge that extends east to the Detroit River, west to Fort Street and I-75, and north to Dragoon Street at Fort Wayne.

The once-thriving community of 30,000 people in the 1930s has shrunk to about 3,000 people today, an area of numerous burned-out and abandoned buildings populated by a tough group of people who remain in Delray for a variety of reasons.

“There are people who want to live here because they have generations of family who grew up here, or because it’s close to the river, or close to their jobs,” said Scott Brines, president of the Community Benefits Coalition, a grass-roots organization formed to protect residents from the potentially harmful impact a second bridge would inflict upon the Delray neighborhood. “We need to take care of people close to transportation and heavy industry. People are going to live here no matter what.”

Brines said the coalition is composed of about 500 residents, businesses, churches and organizations who stand united that when the project gains final approval, either the residents be offered buyouts — all of them, not just those in the footprint of the bridge — or else an investment be made in the neighborhood, one that targets air quality, abandoned buildings and city services.

For years, Delray residents involved in the preservation and improvement of their neighborhood have taken part in monthly community meetings hosted by the Michigan Department of Transportation, meetings that offered information about the bridge project as it proceeded through various stages of planning, and seeking input as to how the building of a new bridge could take concerns of Delray residents to heart.

Brines and other Delray residents are no Pollyannas. They realize that a project of this magnitude is going to have some negative impacts on their neighborhood, but one of their goals is to look for solutions that will lessen those impacts, such as increased air pollution from idling trucks. The coalition believes the new bridge and Delray residents can mutually coexist and even benefit from one another.

One of the suggestions his group has made to bridge planners is that they go directly to the source of pollution by requiring that trucks be retrofitted so they produce less pollution.

“In (Los Angeles) ports private developers retrofitted trucks and it took 90 percent of the particulate out of the air,” Brines said. “You can give a credit for new or retrofitted engines and if not they will pay a little more. This would greatly help the community.”

One of the reasons bridge proponents say Delray may not be left to languish has to do with improving the image of Michigan. The last thing bridge builders want to do, they argue, is to build a beautiful new bridge that connects to a slum neighborhood, which is the last view travelers see when they leave the state and the first image when they enter it.

“It’s a black eye on Michigan and Detroit,” Brines said. “How could you let that happen? When you go across the river, Canada has taken great strides to improve the quality of life and the environment to make the area beautiful.”

Brines said the hope is if the government won’t step in to improve and beautify the area, perhaps the bridge’s private developer will. Many Delray residents feel abandoned by the city of Detroit, he said, and don’t hold out a lot of hope that the financially strapped city will put much effort into neighborhood improvements.

“We are dealing with a city in crisis,” Brines said. “We have so many houses that are abandoned — houses that are burned and ravaged, and stripped of their resources. We’ve also had lot of speculators, businesses buying up properties, one of which is the (Detroit International) Bridge Co.”

Right now, Delray finds itself like everyone else with a stake in the bridge — waiting on approval of the presidential permit. However, as might be expected, there’s considerably more anticipation with Delray residents surrounding the length of time it will take for final approval.

Brines said the community expects at least five years of the building process.

“That’s a hardship,” Brines said of the lengthy period of increased noise, dust and traffic blockages that are involved in such a major project. “The longer we wait, the worse it gets. A lot of us are struggling to see how we can come out on top.”

Key bridge proponent quits post

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Dave Battagello, The Windsor Star

A U.S. cabinet official who is a key proponent of a new Windsor-Detroit bridge has resigned.

Ray LaHood is stepping down after four years as transportation secretary in the Obama administration.

LaHood, 67, visited Detroit more than a dozen times during his tenure – more than any other U.S. city. He was instrumental in awarding federal funds for light rail on Woodward Avenue and helping to bring hundreds of millions of dollars to create a Detroit to Chicago high-speed rail connection.

He was also committed to the Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC).

“I think everything is possible in Michigan when it comes to transportation,” LaHood told the Oakland Press last week. “I think of the leadership of the governor (Rick Snyder) with Canada on the bridge crossing; what that will mean in terms of jobs, what that will mean in terms of the kind of relationship we have with Canada in terms of exports and imports.

“They need to get this project under way, get it done, and continue this kind of continuity of leadership that exists.”

The bridge project requires a presidential permit before it can proceed.

There have already been several candidates announced as a possible successor to LaHood, including former Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm.

A Canadian government official expressed gratitude to LaHood for his work on the bridge file.

“We wish Secretary LaHood well in his future endeavours and would like to thank him for his continued support of the Detroit River International Crossing project,” said Mark Butler, spokesman for Transport Canada.

“The Government of Canada continues to work with the Obama Administration to obtain the necessary approvals to proceed with construction of the project.”

Butler said the U.S. Department of State is in the midst of reviewing public comments and expects a decision on the presidential permit soon.

Snyder’s office expressed gratitude to LaHood.

“Secretary LaHood has been a good partner on several issues of importance to Michigan, including the (the DRIC bridge),” said Ken Silfven, spokesman for Snyder. “However, we’re confident that the (DRIC) stands on its own merits and don’t expect his departure to impact this critical project.”

Editorial: New job poses conflict questions

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LSJ.com

Former state lawmaker Paul Opsommer’s decision to take a job with a company owned by Ambassador Bridge owner Manuel “Matty” Moroun should leave voters with cynical thoughts. They should translate their concern into pressing current lawmakers to pass ethics laws that keep outgoing lawmakers from becoming lobbyists without a cooling-off period of at least a year.

Opsommer, a Republican who had represented the DeWitt area in the House, reached the end of his term-limited time last year. Barely a month after leaving office, he announced last week that he’s taken a governmental affairs position with CenTra Inc., a Moroun family transportation interest, where he will work on policy efforts on both state and federal levels. As chair of the House Transportation committee, Opsommer was an often vocal opponent to efforts to build a new bridge between Detroit and Canada that would compete with the Ambassador Bridge, which is privately owned by the Moroun family through its Detroit International Bridge Co.

Opsommer says he did not take a position with the bridge company to avoid the appearance of impropriety, but it’s hard to see how the public could find much difference. The perception can’t be easily eliminated.

Michigan would be well served to limit senior executive branch officials and lawmakers from jumping directly into lobbying jobs or industry jobs in areas over which they had oversight, such as insurance, health care or transportation. It’s time for reform.

Lobbying oversight needs teeth

Speaking of ethics reforms, Michigan could do a lot to improve its oversight of lobbyists’ spending. An LSJ report this week showed that lobbyists spent some $36.6 million in 2012 to influence public policy in the state, up 3 percent from 2011 and nearly double what was spent in 2001.

The Center for Public Integrity, which did an in-depth state-by-state analysis of ethics, transparency and accountability issues, gave Michigan an overall F grade for integrity and specifically a zero score on key areas of involving lobbyists. A key reason is that while the state has reporting requirements, the center’s review found such reports are not filed frequently enough and are not sufficiently comprehensive. In addition, there are no requirements for auditing lobbyists’ disclosures. And while there is a fine for being late with a filing, there are insufficient penalties for any violations of rules such as spending limits.

Michigan is one of only eight states that got an overall F for in its public integrity score card, and ranked 44th out of 50 states. Again, it’s time for improvement.

An LSJ editorial

Roy Norton takes on Matty Moroun

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An unconventional diplomat

The Windsor Star

Anne Jarvis

He called the owner of the Ambassador Bridge a greedy, manipulative liar. He appeared on Comedy Central’s late-night satirical The Daily Show. He campaigned in the U.S. election.

For a diplomat, Roy Norton isn’t very … well … diplomatic.

When Norton was appointed Canada’s consul-general in Detroit in 2010, then-Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon’s instructions were brief: Get the new bridge.

Norton thought it would be a no-brainer; the Windsor-Detroit border is the largest conduit for the largest trading relationship in the world. Then he ran into Matty Moroun, the billionaire no-holds-barred owner of the Ambassador Bridge who spent tens of millions of dollars on campaign contributions to legislators, misleading ads and a bid for a constitutional amendment, all to protect his monopoly. Getting the new crossing, decided Norton, would require an unorthodox approach. That unconventional approach turned out to be key.

“I don’t think there’s anything to apologize for,” he said in an interview at the consulate in the Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit. If the situation had been reversed, he said, “you can bet the U.S. consul-general in Toronto would be doing exactly what I’m doing – taking every opportunity to convey the facts because U.S. interests are under attack.”

At 58, Norton has grey, thinning hair and glasses and wore a non-descript suit. He’s serious and reserved. He’s also interesting. He has several post-graduate degrees in public policy, administration and international relations from Harvard and Johns Hopkins. Originally from Ottawa, he has been a senior bureaucrat and advisor at Queen’s Park and on Parliament Hill, worked in Canada’s embassy in Washington, D.C. and was on one of the negotiating teams for NAFTA.

And he’s funny, with a dry wit.

(Norton likens Canada’s offer to pay for Michigan’s share of the bridge to the movie Argo, about how Canada helped rescue American hostages in Iran. “Whenever America’s interests are threatened,” he said, “it can count on Canada to come to the rescue – or in this case, front the cost of the bridge.”)

When he took over the job in Detroit, people sighed with relief. Norton knew the file, and he knew American politics.

No Canadian consulate in the U.S. is as important as the one in Detroit, which covers Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. More than 17 per cent of all Canadian exports to the world go to these four states.

“This is quite literally where the rubber hits the road for both of our manufacturing economies,” Norton told the Canada-U.S. Business Association in one of his first speeches.

While Norton’s predecessors entertained the principle players at lunches and dinners,trying to get their endorsements, Norton took on Moroun. The new consul-general hit the road, testifying before legislative committees at the state capitol in Lansing, teaming with Gov. Rick Snyder and lieutenant governor Brian Calley and speaking to dozens of groups across the state.

“In no developed country have I ever seen such blatant and comprehensive efforts by a single special interest to bend an entire population to its will,” he told the Southern Wayne County Regional Chamber last fall.

He called Moroun “cynical, manipulative and greedy.” He called his ads “all lies.” He said Moroun had taken Michigan hostage.

It was very undiplomatic. He was accused of slander.

“I call it as I see it,” he told me. “I try to be as frank, candid and forthright as I can. We have to cut through all the chaff and help (people) understand the facts.”

He said he suspects Windsor blogger Ed Arditti is on Moroun’s payroll. He said he reads Arditti’s blog  because “it’s good to hear what the other side is saying.”

“He’s trying to smear me, is he?” Arditti replied.

But he wouldn’t say if he’s paid by Moroun.

“I’ve had that (question) for 10 years,” he said. “I don’t deal with that any more. It’s insulting.”

When the Morouns got Proposal 6, which would have required a referendum for a new bridge, on the ballot last fall, Norton, Snyder and Calley criss-crossed the state, urging voters to defeat the initiative. Again, it was very undiplomatic. The Morouns accused him of trying to sway a foreign country’s  election.

Norton was very effective.

“There is a fair bit of cynicism here,” he told me. “There seems to be a disinclination to believe (politicians). By contrast, I stand up, raise my right hand and literally swear it’s not going to cost Michigan anything, and people seem to take note. Canada seems to have standing in Michigan.”

Norton was “absolutely essential,” said Calley, who invited him to Snyder’s State of the State speech last month, where the governor called him a “tremendous person.” In addition to his standing as the consul-general, he was clear and convincing. He also charmed audiences with his humour. Even his Canadian accent helped, said Calley. It made him sound “very distinguished.”

By far, Norton’s riskiest move was appearing on The Daily Show last month.

“Define zero,” comedian Al Madrigal asks over and over about how much the bridge will cost Michigan.

“Zero. Zero dollars, zero outlays, zero risk, zero liability,” Norton answers, first serious, then wary, then exasperated before finally smiling.

Polls before the show was taped Nov. 5  showed voting on Proposal 6 would be close, and Democrats were likely to approve it. Democrats are also likely to watch The Daily Show, Norton reasoned.

“The Daily Show was another means by which to provide facts to a target audience,” he said.

The show often skewers government officials, but he figured “if (the show) had an opportunity to take down a billionaire monopolist, it was more likely to do that than take down the government of Canada.”

He was right.

Construction of the new bridge will start next year, “absolutely by 2015,” Norton said. A presidential permit is expected in several months. Then Canada will begin buying property for the bridge in Detroit. (Yes, Canada will own land in Detroit. But Norton assured MichEconomy.com last month, “We are reconciled to the outcome of the War of 1812. We are not trying to take Detroit over again.”)

Moroun owns some of the land needed. Michigan will expropriate it.

Norton still expects Moroun to challenge the agreement to build the bridge, approved without the state legislature.

The U.S. Congress must also approve $250 million for a customs plaza. That could be difficult, Norton conceded. It’s a lot of money in a country with a budget crisis. Moroun will argue his proposed twin span would use the existing customs plaza. Norton will go to Washington this month to start ‘educating’ Congress.

“This isn’t a project for Michigan,” he said. “It’s a project that’s in the interests of tens of millions of Americans.”

John Baird to meet with Secretary of State John Kerry

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John Baird will be the first foreign minister to sit down with America’s newest secretary of state on Friday when he meets with John Kerry.

thestar.com

By: Lee-Anne Goodman The Canadian Press

WASHINGTON—John Baird will be the first foreign minister to sit down with America’s newest secretary of state on Friday when he meets with John Kerry at the State Department to discuss an array of bilateral and international issues.

The two men will “discuss ways to deepen cooperation in the extensive Canada-U.S. relationship,” including efforts to streamline trade and travel at the border, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Thursday.

Kerry, who was officially sworn in on Wednesday, insisted that he meet first with Baird, she added.

“The secretary felt very strongly that our Canadian neighbour and ally should come first,” Nuland said.

In a statement, Baird said he was looking forward to working with Kerry “to find new ways to create jobs, growth and opportunity on both sides of our shared border.”

Baird’s visit to the capital comes five days after he and Kerry had a 15-minute phone call on Sunday.

During that conversation, Baird told reporters in Ottawa on Monday, Kerry expressed no concerns about allegations that Canadians were involved in last month’s terrorist attack on a gas plant in Algeria.

Since then, however, it has emerged that a man who held both Canadian and Lebanese citizenship was involved in a deadly bus bombing in Bulgaria last July. Baird hasn’t been able to provide details about the man’s activities in Canada.

Nuland said TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline will almost certainly be a key topic of conversation between the two men on Friday.

“I have no doubt that subject will come up, as it always does with our Canadian counterparts,” she said.

Baird made the case for Keystone approval during his weekend phone conversation with Kerry. The State Department will make the ultimate decision on Keystone because it crosses an international border.

The $7 billion project would carry carbon-intensive bitumen from Alberta’s oilsands to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast, and has become a flashpoint for U.S. environmentalists, who view it as a symbol of dirty oil.

Kerry has told Baird the State Department’s analysis of the pipeline will be completed soon. But Nuland said Thursday there’s been no change in State’s timeline on Keystone, reiterating that a decision likely won’t come for several weeks.

The new Detroit-Windsor bridge is another probable area of discussion. Both Keystone and the bridge are awaiting the green light from the Obama administration.

Nuland wouldn’t bite on questions about who might become America’s next ambassador to Canada. Several names are being bandied about by prognosticators in Canada-U.S. circles, including that of Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of former president John F. Kennedy.

DeWitt’s Opsommer takes job with bridge owner Matty Maroun

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DeWitt Republican opposed Canada deal

Written by
Paul Egan
Detroit Free Press

The former chairman of the House Transportation Committee said Wednesday that he is going to work for Ambassador Bridge owner Manuel “Matty” Moroun.

And a Democratic state lawmaker who broke with her party in December to cast a key vote for a regional transit authority has landed a job with the Snyder administration.

Paul Opsommer, a DeWitt Republican, had opposed the deal that Gov. Rick Snyder signed with Canada for the New International Trade Crossing. Shanelle Jackson, a Detroit Democrat, started work this week as a $76,500-a-year regional deputy director with the Michigan Department of Transportation. They are among 15 former House members who had to leave the Legislature at the end of 2012 because of term limits.

Opsommer said he will not be working for Moroun’s Detroit International Bridge Co., but instead will be director of government affairs at both the federal and state level for Moroun’s broader transportation and business interests, working for CenTra Inc.

He said he didn’t oppose the public bridge proposed by Snyder, but was concerned by a lack of transparency in the state’s bridge agreement with Canada. Still, Opsommer said he didn’t want to go to work for the bridge company because it could appear inappropriate. But he said he welcomed the challenge of tackling broader issues, such as fixing the road funding problem, at the federal and state level. Moroun spokesman Mickey Blashfield said CenTra wants “to be well-served with someone who knows what’s going on” in transportation.

Bills to authorize the public bridge backed by Snyder and opposed by Moroun never came to a House committee or full chamber vote while Opsommer chaired the House Transportation in 2011-12 because they never emerged from the Senate.

Jackson was one of two Democratic House members who voted yes when legislation to create a regional transit authority for southeast Michigan squeaked through the Legislature on Dec. 6. That’s the day Snyder outraged Democrats by announcing his support for fast-track passage of right-to-work legislation.

Jackson said Wednesday that she took heat from her caucus colleagues over her vote, but in no way believes her job is a reward for helping pass what was a major priority for Snyder.

“It was the right thing to do,” she said. “I had never seen so much opportunity come through for the city of Detroit.”

Jackson will be responsible for outreach to get the transit authority up and running.

Jeff Cranson, a spokesman for MDOT, said Jackson was hired for a two-year contract.