DETROIT — Less than a month after initially denying funding, the Michigan Strategic Fund has approved up to $787 million to build a second span of the Ambassador Bridge.

The plan to build twin span of the privately owned Ambassador Bridge moved a step closer with the funding approval. While not an outright endorsement of the project, it is a step by the state to facilitate the sale of bonds to finance the $1 billion project.

The twin span is one of two plans to build a second crossing between Detroit and Windsor. Government officials on both sides of the border are working towards building a separate public-controlled bridge downriver.

Wednesday’s decision is "another huge step forward to build a replacement bridge," Dan Stamper, president of the Detroit International Bridge Company, said in local media reports.

A spokeswoman for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation said the bridge company will have to come back before the board of the Michigan Strategic Fund for final approval of the inducement.

Last month, the U.S. Coast Guard issued an initial finding of No Significant Impact of a second span on the environment.

The Michigan Strategic Fund approved $212.6 million in private activity bonds for the initial phases of the bridge’s Enhancement Project in December 2007. The development will include a new customs plaza, improved traffic connections and property acquisitions at the bridge, according to bridge officials.

— with files from The Detroit News