Ambassador Bridge seeking deck replacement bids, say still plan second span

Detroit International Bridge Co (DIBC) owner and operator of the Detroit to Windsor Ambassador Bridge is seeking bids for replacing the main deck which goes back to 1929. The deck has undergone repeated maintenance and repairs but spokesman Phil Frame say they've decided "it is time to fully replace it."

In announcing the deck  replacement Dan Stamper BIBC president also said the company remains committed to building a new parallel span - despite the US Coast Guard's refusal a week ago to consider the company's application for a permit.

On the deck replacement Stamper said the request for bids will go out within the next two weeks with the aim of beginning construction in May. Construction work will take two years in order to minimize the impact on traffic.

“We plan to schedule work on the deck during off-peak hours and we’ll close no more than one lane at a time to keep any inconvenience to a minimum. As most Ambassador Bridge travelers know, we frequently shut portions of one lane for necessary maintenance without affecting travel time. The excess capacity we have now due to the steep downturn in traffic will help.”

Traffic on the Ambassador Bridge is down 48 percent from the peak in 1999, the company says, but it remains the No. 1 international crossing in North America and carries more than 25 percent of the trade between the United States and Canada - 4.2 million cars and 2.3 million trucks in 2009, down from 8.9 million cars and 3.4 million trucks in 1999.

Stamper said with an apparent shot at the Blue Water Bridge Commission upriver: “Our carefully planned improvements are designed to get the work done right the first time with minimal disruption, avoiding costly and wasteful re-dos that seem to plague projects at some government-owned bridges."

DIBC also said that it remains fully committed to building a modern six-lane replacement span next to the 80-year-old, four-lane bridge – despite the U.S. Coast Guard’s return of permit paperwork March 2 on the grounds that the company doesn't have title to needed land.

Stamper is quoted:

 “After securing some 95 percent of all necessary property rights – in addition to having completed the necessary plazas and inspection areas – we feel no farther away from building a second span and fulfilling our long-term obligation to the border.

“In this long journey, we have overcome bigger hurdles than this last one. Fortunately, the substance of our preparations and already-existing infrastructure and assets weigh heavily on our side. Through wars, economic booms and busts, the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the blackout of 2003, we have kept traffic and commerce flowing and made the Ambassador Bridge an economic engine for this region.”

DIBC faces strong opposition on both sides of the border from governments that would like to see a new publicly owned (if privately operated) Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC) bridge at a site about 3km (2 miles) downriver where there are good planned connections to the H401 expressway on the Canadian side and I-75 on the US side.

It is unclear however if this DRIC bridge can be financed.

see http://www.ambassadorbridge.com

on the new competing DRIC bridge proposal:

http://www.partnershipborderstudy.com/

TOLLROADSnews 2010-03-05