Judge threatens to cite Ambassador Bridge company president Stamper for contempt

A judge in Detroit said he is preparing to cite Ambassador Bridge company president Dan Stamper for contempt of court for failure to comply with his order to produce a schedule for demolition of unapproved construction. The construction is built as approaches for a new twin span opposed by the Michigan state government and governments on the Canadian side.

Stamper has been ordered to appear in Wayne County Court May 10 by Judge Prentis Edwards to face contempt charges for inaction in the face of his order two months ago to produce a plan for demolition of illegal construction. As well as threatening the contempt citation the judge said he proposes to turn over responsibility for the court ordered demolition to an insurance company that bonded the work.

Judge Edwards ruled February 1 that the bridge company had failed to live up to contractual commitments for the Gateway approach project signed with Michigan State DOT. He granted a state DOT request for the court order for demolition of the constructed approaches to the unapproved new span.

The approaches are said to be located on riverside "parkland" owned by the City of Detroit and never properly acquired by the bridge company.

A state DOT official told Judge Edwards today in court that the bridge company has "done nothing" by way of complying with his order since it was made Feb 1. The Michigan DOT official reiterated that the state wants the Gateway Plaza "done" as provided for in a contractual agreement with the bridge company.

The agreement with the state did not provide for approaches to a parallel span. Those approaches have closed off planned ramps between the bridge plaza and the nearby interstates I-75/I-96. The standoff has seen the state have a contractor place a mound of earth and concrete barriers in the way of connections the company wanted to make to city streets.

The bridge company moved to appeal against Judge Edwards demolition order but a state appeals court has refused to hear the case.

Lawyers for the bridge company clashed with the judge in a hearing today, saying the demolition order could not be enforced.

Edwards said sharply: "It is absurd to think this court would enter an order that’s unenforceable."

Stamper statement "will try to comply"

Later today the bridge company issued a statement attributed to company president Dan Stamper which we reproduce in full:

"The Ambassador Bridge company is obligated to maintain the flow of international traffic between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, and provide a safe and secure plaza where federal border officials can efficiently carry out their job of protecting our country from banned goods and criminal activity. These obligations were outlined by the Wayne County Circuit Court and unanimously affirmed by the Michigan Supreme Court in 2008.

"Today’s comments by Judge Prentis Edwards would interfere with the day-to-day movement of international traffic over the Ambassador Bridge and challenges our ability to provide a sterile plaza area for federal inspectors. In this respect, there are conflicting messages coming from the Wayne County Circuit Court. That is why we plan to seek an emergency appeal with the Michigan Supreme Court to sort out the inconsistencies between the rulings and (what is needed to) protect the bridge. [words in parentheses added for clarity - editor]

"We are concerned that Judge Edwards has, at the request of the Michigan Department of Transportation, ordered the destruction of millions of dollars in investments without allowing DIBC the right to a trial or the ability to call a single witness. Judge Edwards also declined an invitation to visit the Ambassador Bridge plaza to see the concerns we outlined in our briefs. We believe that MDOT’s requests reflect a continued effort to harm the Ambassador Bridge, considered the most efficient border crossing in North America after working closely with federal officials to eliminate post-9/11 delays caused by tighter security.

"Despite all of this, in light of Judge Edwards’ comments from the bench, we are immediately ordering engineering designs and drawings in an effort to comply with this court order to reconstruct portions of the Gateway Project until appellate courts direct otherwise. As we have said before, the Detroit International Bridge Co. does not ignore court orders. MDOT must immediately open the completed ramps from the freeways to the bridge so both parties can complete the Gateway Project." END STATEMENT

BACKGROUND: The Ambassador Bridge is the most heavily trafficked truck crossing between the US and Canada. It is the most direct route between the midwest and Ontario and is located on the Detroit River between Detroit and Windsor. It was built as a toll bridge by a private company under a charter-in-perpetuity issued by the state of Michigan in the 1920s and approved by the US Government. The company has sometimes claimed status as a federal government instrumentality, supposedly giving it the right to override local and state regulation.

The governments of Michigan, Ontario and Canada are attempting to have a parallel and competing bridge built 3km (1.8 miles) downriver at Zug Island, but there is no completed traffic and revenue study and no plan of finance for the bridge. The US Government is also nominally involved in the new bridge project as a partner in the 4-government Detroit River International Crossing team.

Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm organized a rally on behalf of the new bridge with the mayors of Detroit and Windsor. They made sweeping statements about how the new Zug Island bridge is a "no brainer" and urgently needed - even though traffic projections are quite low.

Although there has been a small uptick recently border traffic is well down on a decade ago.

TOLLROADSnews 2010-04-23