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I am offended and outraged by the editorial entitled “Politics Builds a Border Roadblock,” authored by State Rep. Steve Tobocman. Tobocman’s suggestion that my concerns about the Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC) study are focused on protecting private business owners instead of creating jobs and serving the best interests of Michigan’s families flies in the face of the facts and of my three decades serving the people of Michigan and our country.
The purpose of the DRIC study is to evaluate whether another border crossing might be needed. It is not about building competing infrastructure for existing traffic. I am not opposed to the DRIC project. I do have three concerns about its potentially negative effects that must be addressed before a decision is made.
First, a new bridge at the site targeted in the DRIC study would have to be publicly financed. It would cost Michigan and American taxpayers more than $1,500,000,000 on top of the more than $230 million already spent over the years, to connect the Ambassador Bridge to I-75, I-94, and I-96. How can we ask taxpayers to fund a second bridge project when we have not finished the first? Where will the people of Michigan get $1.5 billion for a new bridge?
Second, construction of this second bridge would displace 800-1,000 citizens from their homes and hundreds of homes in Delray, a southwest Detroit neighborhood. More than 400 homes and over 50 active businesses that provide 920 jobs would have to be relocated, and 14 religious, civil, or service institutions would also have to be “condemned.” Shouldn’t we consider the cost to families and local businesses—and allow them to voice their concerns—before needlessly destroying this community?
Last, the push for this new crossing is based on outdated traffic flow data that does not reflect the significant decrease in traffic across and through existing border crossings. If traffic has declined at the existing bridges, tunnels, and other infrastructure, is a new bridge necessary?
The bridge and tunnel are vital not only to the growth and prosperity of Michigan, but also to the city of Detroit and the surrounding communities. Is our international border valuable? Absolutely. Should we preserve a route for the future? Certainly. Should we study future traffic projections? Most definitely.
We should also make sure that our current infrastructure and links to Canada, the Ambassador Bridge, the Blue Water Bridge, and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel are already working to their utmost capacity so that we provide taxpayers with the best return on their investment.
The purpose of a study is to analyze all possible benefits and challenges of a particular issue and develop the best possible solution. I have spoken with many of the stakeholders involved in the DRIC study and Members of the Michigan Congressional delegation on both sides of the aisle; several of them have similar concerns. As a Member of the Canada-U.S. Inter-Parliamentary Council and a participant of the Bi-National study, I understand that our international border is not only important to Detroit and Michigan, but also to the United States.
As a Member of Congress, but especially as one of 66 Appropriators in the U.S. House of Representatives, I am responsible for the people’s purse. I am proud of my accomplishments in the area of transportation in 30 years of service to the people of this great State.
Securing funding for the Detroit Intermodal Freight Terminal and the Detroit/Ann Arbor commuter rail project was not easy, but has been worth the fight. All the citizens and businesses of Detroit and the State of Michigan will benefit from our state’s first commuter rail system and a more efficient freight terminal. The issue of what is best for Michigan’s border crossings is no different. My promise, record, and legacy of legislative achievement has been, and will continue to be, to put you and your needs first. I will continue to work with all elected officials and public and private industry to ensure that Michigan has the best and most effective solution to the DRIC study for you, the people of the City of Detroit and the great State of Michigan.
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