Morouns want Trump to intervene in Gordie Howe bridge plans

A Chinese connection could add a potential new twist in the Moroun family's fight against Canada's planned Gordie Howe International Bridge across the Detroit River.

Bloomberg News, noting that the Morouns have asked the administration to intervene, "appealing to (President) Trump's Buy American instincts," reports that Aecon Group Inc. is among the bidders to build the rival bridge.

The Morouns, who own the Ambassador Bridge and want to build their own replacement, want Trump to rescind a waiver granted by the Obama administration that exempted the Canadian-built bridge from having to use only U.S. steel in the face of a possible takeover of Aecon by a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Communications Construction Company Ltd.

"The saga might get more interesting," Bloomberg reported. Aecon's "proposed takeover by a Chinese company is being reviewed by (Canadian Prime Minister) Justin Trudeau’s government on national security grounds. That raises the prospect of a bridge being built into Detroit by a Chinese company, for the Canadian government, under an exemption from Buy American rules, and over complaints from a U.S. company."

It was unclear, however, whether Aecon would even remain among the bidders on the new bridge if the takeover is approved, the Windsor Star reported this week.

Meanwhile, neither the White House, the U.S. State Department nor the Commerce Department confirmed for the Free Press a request to rescind a waiver on the Buy American provision or its likelihood of being granted.

A statement by Ambassador Bridge officials made clear that the request was linked with a Canadian condition placed on the proposed construction of a replacement span for the Moroun-owned Ambassador Bridge that that the existing bridge must be dismantled when the new one is opened ot traffic.

On Thursday morning, Dan Stamper, the president of the Ambassador Bridge, confirmed for the Free Press that the bridge owners were questioning "why a project like the (Gordie Howe Bridge) should receive a ‘Buy American’ waiver from the U.S. government while the Canadian government unilaterally imposes a condition requiring the demolition of our existing bridge (before opening a replacement)."

Stamper also said that the proposed Canadian-built bridge "conflicts with many of the current administration’s policies," though he was not specific.

“We hope that the U.S. will level the playing field at the border," Stamper said. "Removing the Canadian condition allows construction to begin. Requiring the current bridge to be demolished was not proposed, nor was it considered during the environmental reviews, and our view is that Canada imposed this anti-competitive condition in an attempt to justify a government bridge.”

He added the future of the current Ambassador Bridge "should be decided mutually between the two governments while construction of the new Ambassador Bridge is underway.”

For years, both the Canadian government and the Moroun-owned Detroit International Bridge Co. have been in a race to construct a new bridge between Detroit and Windsor, one of the busiest trade corridors in North America.

While Canadian officials have maintained there is business enough for two bridges, the Morouns have said that if a rival bridge is built first, it could take away the majority of the 89-year-old Ambassador Bridge's truck traffic and ruin their business.

Earlier this year, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to revisit a decision in a case denying the DIBC's attempts to halt construction of the new rival span.

Bloomberg, however, says, "Ending the steel exemption would disrupt plans for Canada’s bridge — perhaps fatally. ... The Morouns say their bridge, which would be a six-lane span next to the four-lane Ambassador, would cost $1 billion; they’ve already spent $500 million. Matthew Moroun (who runs the DIBC) argues the Gordie is unnecessary and will never recoup its costs, and that Canada has used its government agencies to undercut U.S. business."

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While some critics have questioned whether the Morouns truly intend on moving forward with construction of a new span, Canadian officials said they are progressing toward building their own bridge about two miles away from the Ambassador Bridge.

Bloomberg's story quoted Trudeau’s infrastructure minister, Amarjeet Sohi, as saying Canada has purchased nearly 85% of the land needed for its new bridge and is “proceeding as the initial agreement is designed," including keeping its Buy American waiver. Minister of Transport Marc Garneau told Bloomberg, “We need two bridges. We’re going to build ours, the Gordie Howe, and the Ambassador Bridge can be built providing they meet certain conditions."

The Free Press reported in January that the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, the Canadian entity overseeing the project, planned to pick a contractor by about June. A symbolic groundbreaking would then take place in the summer.

The Michigan Department of Transportation now has control of about 85% of the land needed in southwest Detroit, and is moving aggressively to buy the rest.

A spokesman for Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross also told Bloomberg that the secretary supports growth in that corridor and “understands the importance of robust transportation infrastructure” to U.S.-Canada trade.

Contact Todd Spangler at 703-854-8947 or at tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter at @tsspangler.

Editor's note: Previous versions of this story incorrectly stated that the existing Ambassador Bridge must be torn down before construction of a replacement span. The Canadian permit for a new span requires that the existing span be dismantled after construction and the new span begins accepting traffic.