Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and more than 30 state and local elected officials support a proposal to allow new classes of hazardous materials on the privately owned Ambassador Bridge connecting Detroit with Windsor, Ontario. The officials submitted letters to the Michigan Department of Transportation supporting the move over the last seven months.
The Detroit International Bridge Company argues that allowing class 3 and class 8 hazardous materials will decrease the distance these materials need to travel, reducing the risk of a spill. Following the closure of the Detroit-Windsor Truck Ferry in September, trucks carrying these materials have had to use the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron, roughly 60 miles from Detroit. Products like radioactive materials, flammable gasses, and explosives would continue to be prohibited at the company’s request.
Class 3 materials include flammable and combustible liquids such as paint, and Class 8 includes corrosives like lead acid batteries and degreasers.
However, some lawmakers and community advocates opposing the move say that the 93-year-old bridge lacks the safety infrastructure of newer bridges, posing a risk to the densely populated neighborhoods on both the U.S. and Canadian sides. They say that the Gordie Howe Bridge, around 2 miles from the Ambassador Bridge, will allow for the safe movement of these materials when it opens in 2025.
Sam Butler, president of the Hubbard Richard Neighborhood Association, expressed concern that the aging bridge and customs plaza may be unprepared to handle these materials.
“We just don’t think it is a very good idea to transport more hazardous materials, including flammable liquids and corrosive materials, 20 feet from occupied homes,” Butler told Planet Detroit.
He’s also concerned about passenger cars intermixing with trucks carrying these materials through the tight turns of the customs plaza as well as the difficulty of getting emergency vehicles onto the narrow bridge should an accident occur.
But Duggan spokesperson John Roach told Planet Detroit that allowing trucks to use the Ambassador Bridge “has the effect of significantly reducing the number of miles of transportation of hazardous materials on roads in the city.”
Steve Tobocman, a former Democratic Floor Leader in the Michigan House who represented Southwest Detroit, isn’t convinced by the argument that the Ambassador Bridge is a safer route because it reduces the distance hazardous materials travel.
“Should an accident happen on the bridge, there’s not the emergency response ability to limit the damage in the way it would be…on a normal interstate or surface street,” he said.
Among the 30 elected officials who wrote to the Michigan Department of Transportation in support of the move were Detroit City Councilmember Mary Waters, state representatives Tyrone Carter (D-Detroit), Helena Scott (D-Detroit), Karen Whitsett (D-Detroit), Nate Shannon (D-Sterling Heights), Joseph Aragona (R-Clinton Township), Jaime Greene (R-Richmond), and Wayne County Sheriff Raphael Washington.
Tobocman believes supporters might not fully appreciate the potential repercussions of an accident that significantly damaged the bridge, noting it could hinder commerce and create supply chain backups. An estimated quarter of all trade between the U.S. and Canada uses the bridge, according to Statistics Canada.
Although eleven residents submitted letters in favor of the proposal in December, more than 400 signed a petition opposing it in 2020. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer used a line-item veto to defeat that provision, which was included in a COVID-19 relief package for businesses.
An aging bridge and busy neighborhoods
State Senators Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit) and Erika Geiss (D-Taylor) said in a letter to MDOT that hazardous materials pose a special danger in a neighborhood with significant pollution where the bridge company will be expanding its toll plaza.
“Three schools and two public parks lie within the vicinity of the Bridge and Plaza, and the bridge opening lies in a densely populated neighborhood, where 40 percent of the residents are children,” they wrote. “Risking the safety of the seniors, families and children in these places in an environmental justice community would be negligent.”
A November report released by MDOT said the increase in risk from lifting the Class 3 and Class 8 restrictions was small but that “the difference is not significant enough to make a compelling case for or against any changes.”
The study also identified potential problems with fighting fires on the bridge, including a fire suppression system running parallel to the roadway that could be damaged by a vehicle crash. The report noted that fires involving class 3 substances like gasoline would likely require aqueous foam from local fire stations to be put out and that congestion could delay fire response.
A letter to MDOT from GLELC and signed by U.S. Rep Rashida Tlaib (D-Dearborn), Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Ann Arbor), Chang, State Sen. Darrin Camilleri (D-Trenton) and Detroit City Councilmember Gabriela Santiago-Romero, said that the bridge company itself had made the case for the inadequacy of the current bridge.
While pursuing a permit to build a second span in 2009, owners told the U.S. Coast Guard that it was an “aging bridge” that was “near the end of its life span.” The company singled out issues like 11-foot-wide rather than standard 12-foot lanes and minimal safety shoulders that added to backups and congestion.
The GLELC letter also cited safety issues related to private ownership and the bridge company’s use of private engineering firms rather than government inspectors.
It’s previously been reported that Ambassador Bridge owners have not allowed government inspectors on the bridge and failed to show U.S. regulators the results of third-party inspections.
Other problems that have popped up over the years have included uninspected trucks parking underneath the bridge, which some labeled a security concern because of the possibility of an explosion. And in 2015, large chunks of concrete fell off the bridge in Windsor, forcing city officials to close several streets.
City officials say it’s safe
While Windsor officials have opposed allowing more hazardous materials on the bridge, Detroit officials have given the all-clear. A 2021 memorandum from Raymond Scott, deputy director of the city of Detroit’s Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department, expressed support for the plan, with neither the Detroit Police Department nor the Detroit Fire Department Fire Marshal Division seeing any significant issue.
A press release from the bridge company says allowing Class 3 substances like gasoline and diesel fuel to cross the bridge will, on its own, allow 4,200 hundred trucks to avoid the trip to Port Huron, eliminating 250,000 miles of travel and “providing a substantial net safety benefit to the State of Michigan.”
Randy Spader, vice president of operations for the Ambassador Bridge, told Planet Detroit that the bridge company will escort vehicles carrying Class 3 and Class 8 materials and that these vehicles “will be fully equipped with appropriate safety equipment including spill mitigation, fire response, and communication devices.”
Spader also pointed out upgrades the company has made over the last 15 years, which include replacement of the bridge deck and repairs to the concrete substructure.
MDOT spokesperson Jeff Cranson said that if the new classes of material are allowed, the decision could be open to review in the future.
“MDOT could likely request a change if new risks were identified by law enforcement agencies or others,” he said.
Yet, safety assurances from the city or bridge company are unlikely to allay Butler’s concerns.
“It would be very difficult for someone to convince me that more hazardous materials adjacent to a thriving residential community is a good idea,” he said.
Monica Monsma, public involvement specialist for MDOT, said the agency tentatively plans to hold a public hearing on the proposal in March. Residents can sign up for email updates from MDOT here. The agency will also post information about a potential hearing 30 days in advance on MDOT’s hazardous materials routing webpage.
Correction: a previous version of this article incorrectly said U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow signed the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center letter. U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell signed this letter.