Second span now!

**hew** · August-05-13, 03:41 PM

so being an admitted out of towner with a lot of love for the history and the potential of Detroit all this EM/Bankruptcy/Election hoopla appears to be as one so eloquently put it ' a dog and pony show, in front of a smoke screen, in a hall of mirrors.'

without diving to deeply into the radical politics that set detroit adrift in the late sixties, it should come as no surprise that the neglect we have witnessed had little to do with 'free market economics'; of course those who disagree are entitled to their opinions. their hopes of a new ice arena on woodward, and another set of corporate oligarchs to pay police so they feel safe are quaint, uninspired, and insidious when considered in the full light of their social implications.

that aside- when one considers the nature of the economic conundrum, the absolute lack of representation, and the reign of mob mentality that is characteristic of impoverished, undereducated communities- does anyone pause to realize that detroit is home to the most valuable, privately owned, international trade route in north america?

thats right, not taking into consideration the vast tracks of land he, and a few others own- this one piece of infrastructure is worth billions annually.

if i recall correctly, there was an international governmental plan to come up with the money for a second span in public hands, creating revenue for a city that has been in desperate need for quite some time. what ever happened to that plan? why is the freepress posting front page stories about people begging obama for money when we are sitting on a gold mine?

the bridge is the bail out!

my nonsense aside, i hope to have a thread that people feel comfortable posting articles, references, details, issues, etc. regarding their understanding of the second span plan.

is this Pension swindling a hole just dumping the chaff before he remembers that we could be creating jobs, and collecting revenue? is he just tired of the cultural treasure trove that has been a vital point in the faintly beating heart of this city?

miffed..

**Scottathew** · August-05-13, 06:05 PM

Second span? That's usually used to refer to Matty's plan to build a second span right next to the Ambassador, that would be owned and operated by Ambassador Bridge Company. Those tolls would go to ABC.

If you're talking about the other bridge that would be built further downstream, that's the NITC bridge. The NITC is going to be built by the national level governments of the United States and Canada and state\provincial level governments of Michigan and Ontario. Canada is loaning all the money upfront, and will be paid back via tolls.

I assume that once we pay back the loan the tolls will be split 50/50 and will be used to operate the bridge.

Tolls won't go to Detroit. Why? Because Detroit isn't the entity building the bridge, funding the bridge, or controlling the bridge.

If Detroit wants the tolls, then Detroit has to help finance and build the bridge. I think they'll have a hard time coming up with someone willing to loan them the money.

**EastsideAl** · August-05-13, 06:52 PM

Hew, with all due respect, you don't seem to know what you're talking about. As for the plans for new crossings between the U.S. and Canada, I suggest you do a search. There has been a ton of discussion here and elsewhere over many years about the various plans and schemes, and the political and financial considerations involved.

**DetroitPlanner** · August-05-13, 08:59 PM

One thing that could happen with the NITC however is the opening up of land for trade in the immediate area. If planned correctly, this would bring in property taxes, income taxes and spin off jobs.

**Honky Tonk** · August-05-13, 09:04 PM

Originally Posted by DetroitPlanner

One thing that could happen with the NITC however is the opening up of land for trade in the immediate area. If planned correctly, this would bring in property taxes, income taxes and spin off jobs.

Exactly. Does anyone know of a start date for the new bridge? Last I heard, Matty Maroun had a case pending in the Supreme Court. Is the start date on hold until that's settled?

**Richard** · August-05-13, 09:54 PM

Originally Posted by DetroitPlanner

One thing that could happen with the NITC however is the opening up of land for trade in the immediate area. If planned correctly, this would bring in property taxes, income taxes and spin off jobs.

Kinda missing the boat on that one,the whole idea was to skip Detroit as the city.

New warehouses are already being built outside of the city and that is where the taxes and jobs are going.City warehousing has had the rug pulled out and devalued.

So I am delighted that the Detroit Region Aerotropolis Development Corporation has just hired a CEO, completed a strategic marketing plan and rebranded itself as “VantagePort.”

This means that, at long last, things are actually happening. Tim Keyes, the former economic development manager for the city of Romulus, is the new VantagePort CEO. He’s smart and experienced. He knows how to get things moving through the thicket of Wayne County politics. And he’s got a clear endorsement from local and county government and the business community.

VantagePort claims considerable recent progress: More than 2,500 new jobs and around $320 million in planned investment.

http://www.mlive.com/opinion/index.s...is_projec.html

They are already building massive warehouses,GE is next.
Nice for the region not so much for the city.

The state's first Next Michigan Development Corp. was the Detroit Region Aerotropolis, formed by Wayne and Washtenaw counties and seven cities and townships. The aerotropolis — as it is more commonly known — encompasses 60,000 acres around Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus and Willow Run Airport near Ypsilanti.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...n-centers-into

The boundary map is here.

http://detroitregionaerotropolis.com/index.htm

**old guy** · August-05-13, 09:59 PM

Originally Posted by Honky Tonk

Exactly. Does anyone know of a start date for the new bridge? Last I heard, Matty Maroun had a case pending in the Supreme Court. Is the start date on hold until that's settled?

Seriously? The Supreme Court is involved in this matter?

**Richard** · August-05-13, 10:12 PM

Originally Posted by Honky Tonk

Exactly. Does anyone know of a start date for the new bridge? Last I heard, Matty Maroun had a case pending in the Supreme Court. Is the start date on hold until that's settled?

Utility relocation is expected to start in Detroit this year, with the DRIC bridge under full construction in 2015, he said. The project is expected to be completed in 2019 or 2020.

Norton expects Ambassador Bridge owner Matty Moroun will continue to fight the project — largely through the courts — but said he doesn’t believe it will stall construction.

http://blogs.windsorstar.com/2013/05...r-dric-bridge/

No holds effecting as of now,there are a couple of properties that somebody owns smack dab in the middle that are probably going to be very expensive and cause delays though.