04-30-2010, 10:13 AM
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Franchise Player
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Probably stuck driving someone somewhere
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Canada offers Michigan $550M loan for bridge
Canada has offered to contribute up to $550 million US to help the cash-strapped state of Michigan pay for a new bridge crossing the Detroit River between Windsor, Ont., and Detroit.
Federal Transport Minister John Baird made the offer in a letter Thursday to Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
Baird said Canada cannot afford any further delay in construction of the Detroit River International Crossing.
The cash from Canada will help cover the costs for Michigan to get started with the project on its side of the border, including an interchange with Interstate 75, the toll plaza and buying up land needed to build the U.S. Customs plaza.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/windsor/sto...#ixzz0mbIUJjtP
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Bridge cash for Michigan called a 'bribe'
Canada's offer to pay more than half a billion dollars to cover Michigan's construction costs of a new border crossing is drawing mixed reaction from both Canadians and Americans.
....Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm acknowledged that without some financial help, the state legislature was having a hard time approving the bridge project.
With Canada's financial backing, Michigan can now approach the U.S. federal government for support, said Granholm.
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The bridge, known locally as DRIC, would be downriver from the current Ambassador Bridge, owned by Michigan billionaire Matty Moroun and his Detroit International Bridge Co.
The company's president, Dan Stamper, called the Canadian offer "offensive."
"This is a bribe — that's what you see here," Stamper told the Detroit News.
"Our legislators ought to be very careful."
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