Windsor/Detroit bridge is a go!

[Guest American Woman]

Yes, actually, they do.

No, actually, they don't.

Maroun controls much of the Republican party. That's pretty bloody obvious. You need proof water is wet too?

Without even getting into the validity of that statement, here's a newsflash for you. The Tea Party is not the GOP.

The purpose of a bridge is to allow traffic to flow freely. Adding a second span to an existing bridge which opens onto a complex series of small roads on either end would be idiotic. Far better to build a bridge which leads to highways.

The problem is on Canada's side; Canada doesn't want commercial truck traffic in downtown Windsor. Canada doesn't want to have to deal with that problem on its end. A new bridge is a better answer for Canada.

A major redesign of the U.S. plaza completed in July 2009 provides direct access to Interstate 96 and Interstate 75 on the American side

and Highway 3 (and indirectly with Highway 401) on the Canadian side.

The Canadian end of the bridge connects to busy city streets in downtown Windsor, leading to congestion.

link

(Emphasis mine)

So that doesn't answer the question.

Certainly true. What's more, Detroit is fully of darkies. Poor darkies don't vote Republican, so who cares if a bridge will help anyone in that area, right?

Certainly true, indeed. Something you might want to keep in mind in the future. So now that we've got that straight, do tell how a new bridge will "help the darkies." How it will change their lives.

Their objections are that it may damage the monopoly of their patron. I thought that was clear.

What's clear is that I was right - you haven't read the legislature's objections, or have chosen to dismiss them.

[kraychik]

Argus, let me congratulate you on successfully epitomising the reflexive anti-Americanism that is endemic to the Canadian left, despite your attempts to present yourself as something different. The rhetoric about "money buying American politics" (which isn't true in America or in Canada), the implication that the Republican party and American conservatives are anti-black racists, and your pretentiousness in using the British adjective of "bloody" does a good job in exposing the anti-Americanism that is a staple of the Canadian left. I cannot thank you enough.

Nothing exposes the left better than the left speaking candidly.

[Guest American Woman]

Apparently Detroit is the Gateway to the Promised Land. There is a tunnel too ...

And apparently the tunnel was shut down today:

Officials shut down the international commuter tunnel connecting Detroit with Windsor, Ontario, on Thursday as authorities investigated a bomb threat.

The Detroit Windsor Tunnel was closed to traffic after the threat was called in on the Canadian side...

Damn Canadians This is why we need our own bridge.

[TheNewTeddy]

There is a small tunnel connecting the two cities, as well as a rail connection. Neither can handle much capacity.

There is just one other bridge, the Ambassador bridge, connecting the two. A full 1% of the US GDP crosses this bridge, and if it were taken out of commission, it would do serious damage to both our economies. A single terrorist attack could destroy the bridge, and THAT is why we need a second one.

I wish to echo my earlier statement. The tunnel was out of service for quite a while, what if it was the bridge? People don't tend to care about things until they stop working properly. If the connection stops working properly, it makes headline news. We need another connection for the simple fact that we need a back-up in the event something goes wrong. The tunnel is not adequate as a backup.

[bush_cheney2004]

.... We need another connection for the simple fact that we need a back-up in the event something goes wrong. The tunnel is not adequate as a backup.

See "Detroit-Windsor Truck Ferry"....in operation for many decades. That's how HAZMAT trucks travel, cause they can't use the bridge or tunnel.

[TheNewTeddy]

The alternates do not have the capacity needed.

[bush_cheney2004]

The alternates do not have the capacity needed.

Temporary ferries are cheaper than new six lane bridges to nowhere.

Edited July 13, 2012 by bush_cheney2004

[Guest American Woman]

The alternates do not have the capacity needed.

Alternatives generally don't have the same capacity - for financial reasons.

Edited to add: In reading further, I see bush_cheney has already said the same thing.

Edited July 13, 2012 by American Woman

[cybercoma]

See "Detroit-Windsor Truck Ferry"....in operation for many decades. That's how HAZMAT trucks travel, cause they can't use the bridge or tunnel.

A maximum of 8 trucks at a time every 5x a day. That's a total capacity of 40 trucks per day, while the Ambassador Bridge sees over 10000 trucks cross each day.

As Teddy said... capacity.

[cybercoma]

Right. They would only need 249 more Ferries to take up the slack.

[bush_cheney2004]

A maximum of 8 trucks at a time every 5x a day. That's a total capacity of 40 trucks per day, while the Ambassador Bridge sees over 10000 trucks cross each day.

Use more/bigger ferries....DUH!

As Teddy said... capacity.

Over-capacity.

Edited July 13, 2012 by bush_cheney2004

[bush_cheney2004]

Right. They would only need 249 more Ferries to take up the slack.

Just wait your turn...no hurry to get into Canada!

[The_Squid]

Use more/bigger ferries....DUH!

And these are free? You would just have these large ferries sitting around with a crew waiting for a bridge/tunnel shutdown? There's a job creation program!

[bush_cheney2004]

And these are free? You would just have these large ferries sitting around with a crew waiting for a bridge/tunnel shutdown? There's a job creation program!

Sure....let the contracts now to provide temporary service in the event of a bridge and or/tunnel closure. Include rail passenger and freight traffic. Add a few barges for hogs and sheep!

The owners of the Ambassador bridge tried to build a modern replacement and redundancy, but Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

[Argus]

The problem is on Canada's side; Canada doesn't want commercial truck traffic in downtown Windsor. Canada doesn't want to have to deal with that problem on its end. A new bridge is a better answer for Canada.

I'm not sure how the obvious could fly that far over your head, but if a bridge is badly congested ON EITHER SIDE then everyone who uses it bears the brunt. It doesn't matter if the issue is on the northern or southern end. It's still an issue that blocks traffic and causes delays to business that costs both sides a lot of money. If you had read my cite it contained the following:

Conversely, a report released yesterday by the respected Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Centre for Automotive Research (CAR) says that a new bridge would boost the GDP of Michigan, among the U.S. states hardest hit by the Great Recession, by an astonishing $2.2 billion (U.S.). Personal income across the state would jump by $4 billion, says CAR. State and local tax revenue in a state in which cutbacks in education and other services by a cash-strapped Lansing have been the norm for several years would rise by $400 million.

A major redesign of the U.S. plaza completed in July 2009 provides direct access to Interstate 96 and Interstate 75 on the American side

and Highway 3 (and indirectly with Highway 401) on the Canadian side.

The Canadian end of the bridge connects to busy city streets in downtown Windsor, leading to congestion.

link

(Emphasis mine)

And Wiki is always a rock solid source of information, right?

Or from my cite:

Maroun spent a day in prison in January for defying a court order to comply with an agreement by which he accepted taxpayer funds to streamline the Ambassador’s access roads and toll plazas. Instead, Maroun used the public funds to further impede traffic with labyrinthine roadways that oblige the 8,000 trucks and 68,000 travelers that use the Ambassador each day to pass by his duty free shops and gas pumps. The gasoline is only a few pennies cheaper for motorists, but duty-free gas is largely exempt from excise taxes and Maroun rakes off the difference as effortless profit.

Certainly true, indeed. Something you might want to keep in mind in the future. So now that we've got that straight, do tell how a new bridge will "help the darkies." How it will change their lives.

See the quote above, from the Center for Automotive Research.

What's clear is that I was right - you haven't read the legislature's objections, or have chosen to dismiss them.

Uh huh. You know, the appropriate answer on your part would be a recitation of the other objections they have. But since you provide none I'm going to take that as an indication you have no idea what they might be.

Edited July 14, 2012 by Argus

[Argus]

Argus, let me congratulate you on successfully epitomising the reflexive anti-Americanism that is endemic to the Canadian left, despite your attempts to present yourself as something different. The rhetoric about "money buying American politics" (which isn't true in America or in Canada), the implication that the Republican party and American conservatives are anti-black racists, and your pretentiousness in using the British adjective of "bloody" does a good job in exposing the anti-Americanism that is a staple of the Canadian left. I cannot thank you enough.

Nothing exposes the left better than the left speaking candidly.

First, having demonstrated you don't know anything about conservatism, you now demonstrate you don't know anything about either anti-Americanism, or American politics. Congratulations. I could reflect here on what that reveals about yourself, but though it would be merely descriptive (and accurate) you would probably take it as insulting. So I leave it to you to ponder what this totality of ignorance reveals about yourself.

[TheNewTeddy]

The owners of the Ambassador bridge tried to build a modern replacement and redundancy, but Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

I don't care who builds redundancy, if it's the owners of the old bridge, the government, you, me, the pope - but SOMEONE must, and soon.

[bush_cheney2004]

I don't care who builds redundancy, if it's the owners of the old bridge, the government, you, me, the pope - but SOMEONE must, and soon.

Most Americans, and I suspect many Canadians as well, don't give a rat's ass about the fate of the old bridge or a new one. How many years has this gone on?

[bush_cheney2004]

Krikey....part of this bridge traffic is just miserly Canadians trying to pay less for gas:

It’s probably safe to say that Canadians returning from the United States almost without exception stop to purchase cheaper American gasoline – which can be as much as 30 cents per litre less expensive – than what they pay in the Great White North. And perhaps it’s also true that the majority of Canucks fill their tanks at the Ambassador Bridge’s duty free pumps, expanded in the past couple of years into two sprawling plazas with 32 pumps plus 14 truck diesel pumps. There likely are various reasons people fill-up there: the bridge is presumed safer than typical Detroit streets, the area is highly convenient since it’s right beside the bridge ramp and

– perhaps biggest reason – price is presumed best in Detroit…In fact the Ambassador Bridge web site advertises the ”best fuel price in town” (based on the bridge’s reward card) and posts daily its regular and diesel prices compared to those of Canadian litres. Today, for example, the price was $3.89 ($1.02/litre equivalent) a far cry from the $1.34 average price in Windsor…But little known is that, as good as the bridge’s prices are, they aren’t necessarily the cheapest in Detroit.

http://buildthedricnow.com/2011/05/12/ambassador-bridge-gas-not-always-cheapest/

[TheNewTeddy]

Don't matter if people want one. Don't matter if it costs too much. We NEED one. N double-E D.

[GostHacked]

Temporary ferries are cheaper than new six lane bridges to nowhere.

Yes but they are temporary.

[bush_cheney2004]

Now the Canadians are creating bomb threats to get more spending on security and bridges!

Amazing fun...

"We cannot confirm, but suspect that this is has something to do with Canada's disinvestment at the border by cutting back on customs agents," president Dan Stamper wrote in a statement to media. "The Detroit International Bridge Company remains vigilant in its efforts to ensure that all those who cross the Ambassador Bridge remain safe."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2012/07/16/ambassador-bridge-windsor-threat.html

[guyser]

Now the Canadians are creating bomb threats to get more spending on security and bridges!

We learned from the best.

[bush_cheney2004]

We learned from the best.

Yes...Ahmed Ressam...a fine Canadian!

[guyser]

Yes...Ahmed Ressam...a fine Canadian!

Close, but not close enough.

Think more of the country he was caught in.