DRIC project clears legislative hurdle, moves one step closer to reality

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LANSING, Mich. –Proponents of a government-funded second crossing between Windsor and Detroit celebrated a victory last month, as the Michigan House of Representatives voted 56-51 to proceed with the Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC) project.

The vote was the first major legislative hurdle the project must clear to become a reality.

Next, the project must be approved by the Michigan Senate, which will hold hearings and then vote on the issue within the next few weeks.

Ontario Trucking Association president David Bradley, a staunch supporter of the DRIC project, welcomed the news.

“Construction of a new border crossing in the Windsor-Detroit gateway is crucial for the safe, reliable and efficient movement of goods between not only Ontario and Michigan, but between Canada and the US,” he said. “While there is still much work to be done to secure passage in the Senate, this is a big step forward towards making a new bridge facility a reality.”

Bradley added: “We’ve been calling on governments to address the inadequate border infrastructure in the Windsor-Detroit area for years. We need to get the trucks off of the Windsor city street that leads to the current bridge and create a freeway-to-freeway border crossing in this region. We need to ensure that there is redundancy in our border crossings in this area so that a problem at one crossing doesn’t disrupt the flow of goods that manufacturers, like the auto sector, need in order to keep production lines working smoothly.

“We need improved, state-of-the-art, Customs facilities that aren’t possible on the footprint of the current plazas at the existing bridge. And finally we need to provide enough capacity to provide for the inevitable growth in truck traffic servicing the trade between Canada and the US over the coming years. The DRIC project is the only available solution that meets all of these goals and we can’t lose this opportunity to build this much needed trade link.”

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