Here comes bridge number two

The Canadian government and the Michigan governor’s office have secured a deal to build a second bridge between Windsor and Detroit - a historic accord aimed at unclogging North America’s most important trade artery after decades of setbacks. Prime Minister Stephen Harper visited Windsor and Detroit on Friday to unveil the agreement alongside Michigan Governor Rick Snyder. The bridge deal creates an authority to oversee the construction, operation, and financing of the project, which is forecast to cost as much as $4-billion and take up to five years to build. The new bridge, currently known as the Detroit River International Crossing or the New International Trade Crossing, will offer an alternative route for trucks at Canada’s busiest commercial border conduit – one that carries one-quarter of the goods traded between Canada and the United States each year. The agreement requires Canada and the United States to compromise on a hot-button subject: the rules stipulating where the material to build the bridge and associated U.S. infrastructure must come from. Canada would have preferred a no-restrictions approach to steel and other materials, while Michigan had favoured a “buy American” rule. The tradeoff is that all iron and steel for any component of the bridge, or the approaches and customs plaza on the U.S. side, must originate from Canada or the United States. The measure is an attempt to reassure Michiganders who were warned by bridge opponents that the steel might come from cheaper overseas suppliers in China or South Korea. Personally, I don't care which country the iron or steel used comes from as long as it's of a good enough quality. But here's an even cheaper idea: they could always just widen the existing crossings if that turns out to be a better solution. That way, they won't even need to worry about any new iron or steel.