WINDSOR, Ont. - Transport Minister Lisa Raitt and Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder have announced the creation of a U.S.-Canadian authority that will oversee the construction, operation and maintenance of new bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ont.
Raitt says the Windsor Detroit Bridge Authority is a non-profit Crown corporation that will report to Ottawa as it manages the project for the New International Trade Crossing .
She says the authority will be in charge of preparing the sites, managing the procurement process for a private-sector partnership and setting and collecting tolls.
Another panel, the Canada Michigan International Authority, is also being formed to approve key steps in the public-private partnership and to purchase the required land in Michigan.
The Canadian government has already agreed to finance the construction of the $1-billion bridge, which would open in 2020, but the project will still need funding from U.S. Homeland Security.
The total cost of the project would be about $4 billion, including work on freeway interchanges, customs plazas in both countries and infrastructure work.
