Snyder's bridge authority vote to miss July deadline

Lansing — Gov. Rick Snyder conceded Thursday his July 1 deadline for approval of a public authority to oversee construction of a new Detroit-Windsor bridge will not be met.

"We look forward to working on this issue throughout the summer, and keeping a strong focus on the New International Trade Crossing and its role in Michigan's economic comeback," said Snyder's press secretary, Sara Wurfel. "We'll look to a vote in the fall."

Two weeks ago on Mackinac Island, a confident Snyder set the early bridge vote deadline after getting his controversial budget through the Legislature ahead of an equally aggressive May 31 deadline.

But he retreated Thursday in the face of opposition from GOP senators.

If it stands, the Senate's rejection of Snyder's push for fast approval of the bridge authority would be the first major setback dealt Snyder since he took office Jan. 1.

"I don't want to throw the governor under the bus; he's doing a good job," said Sen. Goeff Hansen, R-Hart, a member of the Senate Economic Development Committee. "But we have to be on our time line.

"This is a huge, huge decision for the state of Michigan; we can't short it."

Hart's committee will study the bridge issue over the summer and a July 1 vote is "not a reality," said Amber McCann, a spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville, R-Monroe, sponsor of the two bridge bills.

The comments came after the committee heard from one of the project's strongest opponents during its second day of hearings.

Matthew Moroun, vice chairman of the company that owns the Ambassador Bridge, told the committee a second bridge is not justified by current or projected traffic volumes, but if his company got approval it would start work immediately on a second private bridge beside the one it owns.

That sounds like a contradiction, said Sen. Mike Nofs, R-Battle Creek.

But Moroun insisted it's not.

First, the Ambassador Bridge is 83 years old and its owners spend about $20 million a year to maintain it, said Moroun, the son of longtime bridge owner Manuel "Matty" Moroun. That's a lot more than it would have to spend if it could do the same work with the Ambassador closed to traffic, he said.

The plan is to build a bridge linked into the existing customs plazas on either side of the Detroit River, then close the Ambassador Bridge and perform a major rehab on the 1920s span, Moroun said.

A Traveler's Tales: The World's 15 Longest Suspension Bridges

A suspension bridge is one of today’s engineering marvels that takes a great role in a country’s economic growth. It is a type of bridge where the load-bearing portion is hung from suspension cables. As early as the 7th century, simple suspension bridges (without vertical suspenders) where already in use in Central America. In the early 19th century, iron chains are used as cables in suspension bridges but were later replaced by high tensile strength cables. Modern day bridges use steel that are individually bound together as cables. These suspension bridges are ideal for covering busy waterways. Here are today’s world’s 15 longest suspension bridge The George Washington Bridge is a suspension bridge that run across the Hudson River, connecting Manhattan in New York City to Fort Lee in New Jersey. Completed in 1931,the GWB which span 1,067 meters (3,500 ft) is the fourth longest suspension bridge in the United States. It is considered one of the world’s busiest bridges in terms of vehicle traffic. The bridge has two levels; an upper level with four lanes in each direction and a lower level with three lanes in each direction. The Bogazici Bridge, also called the Bosphorus Bridge is a gravity anchored suspension bridge that links Europe and Asia. Completed in 1973, it has a main span of 1,510 m (4,954 ft) with a 64 m (210 ft) sea level clearance. Located in Istanbul, Turkey, the bridge has three lanes for vehicular traffic and an emergency lane in each direction for a total of eight lanes. Today, around 180,000 vehicles (almost 85% are cars) pass daily in both directions. The Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, also known as the Second Bosphorus Bridge runs across the Bosphorus strait. Completed in 1988, it is a 1,510 m (3,576 ft) long bridge that links Hisarüstü (European side) and Kavacık (Asian side).The bridge has four lanes for vehicular traffic plus one emergency lane in each direction. Today, around 150,000 vehicles (almost 65% are cars) are passing daily in both directions.