Originally Posted by
Sandhouse
It was probably foolish to expect that Bishop would allow the DRIC to move in this session. By punting it into the 96th legislature, the Republicans can keep milking Matty for several hundred thousand a year for at least another two years, and maybe indefinitely. Probably the Republicans' worst nightmare is for the state, the Chamber, and Ontario to stop promoting the DRIC.
It's possible, but unlikely, that Congress or the administration would make a cause of a new Detroit bridge. They are focused entirely on the Mexican border and seem not to know that the country has a northern border that is crossed by a lot of commerce. They are not at all eager to invest money in making Michigan/Ontario traffic flow smoothly, and I see no sign that the Canadians have any leverage over Washington on this issue. Michigan's congressional delegation is probably powerless on this, too.
I see the current situation persisting until some interest outbids Matty for ownership of the Michigan legislature, which will probably happen when traffic rebounds to the point where a new bridge attracts serious investor money. In other words, a long time.