Canada should buy the Ambassador Bridge, expert says

Putting the new Gordie Howe International Bridge and the aging Ambassador Bridge under a common authority "makes sense," according to Bill Anderson of the Cross Border Institute in Windsor.

• Canada should consider buying Ambassador Bridge, Ottawa told

Anderson agrees with Dwight Duncan, chair of the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, who recommends they the federal government investigate buying the competing, aging and privately owned Ambassador Bridge from U.S. billionaire Matt Moroun.

Like Duncan, whose job it is to oversee construction of the new span, Anderson thinks the two bridges could work well together.

"The goal here is to make the border work better, not just getting a bridge built across [the Detroit River] and so it's all a part of one package," Anderson said. "It's getting the [Herb Gray] Parkway built; it's getting the bridge built; and if you can get the [new] bridge aligned with the bridge that's there, I think it would be a big advantage in the long run."

Duncan was not available this week for comment.

More than 25 per cent of all merchandise trade between the U.S. and Canada crosses the Ambassador Bridge.

"If you have those two bridges working in tandem so that you now have five lanes going each direction across the bridge, then you're in the position to being able to dedicate a lane to Nexus, a lane to FAST," Anderson said of secure and pre-authorized travellers.

Anderson said if the government is genuinely interested in purchasing the Ambassador Bridge, it makes sense to do it now instead of waiting as long as the price is right.

• Brian Masse says Dwight Duncan's mandate is to build, not buy, a bridge

Construction of the Gordie Howe Bridge runs the risk of being delayed because property is still needed on the U.S. side.
West Windsor resident Terry Kennedy, who is also a bit of a local historian in Sandwich Towne, doesn't want the Canadian government to buy the Ambassador Bridge.

He also wants residents to be heard if Ottawa goes ahead with buying the bridge.

"We're not going to trade one set of restraints for a whole new set of tyranny, nor are we going to let Dwight Duncan trade Sandwich Towne properties for Delray properties," he said. "Sandwich Towne residents demand a seat at the table."