The City of Detroit is on board with the Ambassador Bridge Company's plans to create a second span.
In a deal between both sides, Detroit is giving the Ambassador Bridge Company a 100 ft. strip of land along the river that runs parallel with the bridge.
The City of Windsor opposes twinning the bridge and Mayor Drew Dilkens says he was surprised by the announcement. "We had no advance notice that this was coming, but we also understand that it's not a unilateral decision that the mayor can make," says Dilkens. "He would need city council approval as well as state approval to move in that direction. So there are a number of hurdles still to cross here."
Dilkens says a second span would impact the two cities very differently. "When I look on the Detroit side of the bridge, the proposed location for that bridge really wouldn't impact many, if any, homes at all," says Dilkens. "Where as the situation on our side of the border is much different. This bridge would be coming into an established neighbourhood. It's the oldest part of our city."