A published report says Governor Rick Snyder is ready to bypass a reluctant Legislature and move ahead with a new international border crossing in Detroit.
Crain’s Detroit Business says the governor will turn to the Michigan Strategic Fund to make the necessary agreements with Detroit and the U.S. and Canadian governments. The Strategic Fund is a public-private economic development agency. The move would allow the governor to sidestep legislative approval. The governor has been looking for a work around because he’s been un-able to get his fellow Republicans to go along with his proposed bridge across the Detroit River. He says getting rid of a bottleneck at a busy international crossing would make metro Detroit and the rest of the state a magnet for many types of economic activity.
The governor’s plan has gotten a lot of pushback from the owners of the Ambassador Bridge, which would compete with the new span. They say a new bridge is not needed and the government should not be competing with a private enterprise.