City of Detroit may sell land for Ambassador Bridge twin span (UPDATED)

Detroit scribe Joel Thurtell says he's hearing that the Ambassador Bridge company is talking with officials at the City of Detroit about a purchase of the land under the approaches of the planned twin span. The bridge company's lack of title to the property has been a major political and legal impediment to its plans to build a modern, wider span alongside the old.

The company has already been accused of trespass in fencing off and doing construction of the parts of the toll plaza/border control and approaches for the new span, and is under a judge's order to demolish structures built at least partially on city property.

A purchase of land would remove at least one cause for demolition.

But problems remain. The land in question is city parkland, part of Riverside Park, and the Detroit Mayor would take a lot of heat for selling parkland to the unpopular bridge company - especially after the charges of squatting.

He might even be blocked by his city council.

Second the demolition order obtained by Michigan DOT against the bridge company is based on more than land title issues. Indeed it stressed most of all the bridge company's failure to fulfill a contract signed with the state DOT to coordinate construction of the $230m Gateway Plaza according to plans that make no provision for the twin span.

Third the bridge company has none of the permits needed for the twin span but has started construction as if those permits aren't needed.

The Ambassador Bridge saga goes on.

UPDATE Sunday March 21: Thurtell now says the Mayor's office has flipped, saying there are NO plans to sell land to the Ambassador Bridge company, and no discussions on this. A spokesman has changed her line.

TOLLROADSnews 2010-03-19 UPDATE 2010-03-21 10:00