Billionaire’s Planned Bridge a Potential Target: Baird

(Brent Jang — Globe & Mail)

Transport Minister – who supports public option – says close proximity to Ambassador Bridge puts both private spans at risk of terrorist attack

In the battle of the bridge, federal Transport Minister John Baird is playing the terrorism card.

Plans by Michigan billionaire Manuel (Matty) Moroun to build a new span next to his Ambassador Bridge would make the continent’s busiest commercial crossing a juicy target for terrorists who could block billions of dollars in Canada-U.S. trade for months, Mr. Baird says.

Mr. Moroun, 82, wants to build a new Detroit-Windsor span only 30 metres west of the Ambassador Bridge, but Ottawa is supporting a rival proposal for a new government-backed crossing three kilometres down the Detroit River.

Mr. Baird said if Mr. Moroun succeeds in adding a new span so close to his privately owned Ambassador Bridge, police will face a major security threat. “If those bridges ever went down, the Ontario and Michigan economies within a matter of days would be on their knees,” the minister said in an interview Monday. Read more here.

Related information from Transport Canada:

• Minister Issues Statement Regarding a New Windsor-Detroit Crossing

• Fact Sheet – Detroit River International Crossing