Design and analysis
21 Sep 11
Independent study looks at US-Canada bridge plan
An independent report has concluded that the larger of the two schemes proposed for an international bridge between Michigan in the USA and Windsor in Canada would be the only one to address congestion problems.
The two schemes are the Michigan's governor Rick Snyder's proposed New International Trade Crossing (NITC) and a proposal from the Detroit International Bridge Company (DIBC) for a second crossing alongside its existing Ambassador Bridge.
The report was produced out by Anderson Economic Group using publicly-available information on the two schemes. It said that NITC is a much larger construction project than the DIBC scheme. It would have a longer span and the site conditions would lead to greater construction costs. But building a second bridge with additional customs capacity would provide the opportunity to reduce congestion and prepare for future increases in commercial traffic.
The estimated total cost of the NITC scheme is US$2.2bn, while the DIBC proposal would cost between US$400m and US$500m.
The report can be accessed on the Anderson Economic Group website.
