While everyone feels that Gov. Rick Snyder faced a substantial defeat with the committee vote rejecting the public/private partnership of the Detroit River International Crossing, the reality is that the vote tells us that five senators believe a second bridge should exist. The issue is one of what “public benefits” should be provided to the local community.
This issue is not an easy one. The area in which the bridge is located is the most contaminated in the Detroit region. At the same time, viable industry can and does survive in the area. The residents of the neighborhood want their area “cleaned up” — benefits to be provided to those landowners whose property is not taken as part of the project. This is laudable, but, as already noted in this blog and in so many other recent writings, fiscal restraint is the order of the day.
At some point, common sense talking Republicans and fair-minded Democrats will determine if the overall need for the bridge outweighs any personal distaste for the project.
