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The State of Michigan’s move to allow transportation of hazardous materials across the Ambassador Bridge has sparked concerns for safety on Windsor streets.
“This is a wrong decision for our community,” Brian Masse (NDP — Windsor West) said Friday.
“The end result is our public safety, our economy, and our environment are being comprised by this decision. Essentially, we could have upwards of 30 to 40 trucks per day that will come across the bridge, under the estimations of MDOT, that will have hazardous material.”
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The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) will lift restrictions on the transportation of Class 3 and Class 8 substances across the Ambassador Bridge starting Oct. 29.
Class 3 substances are flammable liquids such as gasoline, ethanol, paints, and some pesticides. Class 8 covers corrosive substances such as sulfuric acid, batteries, and sodium hydroxides.
The Windsor-Detroit truck ferry was the only legally approved border crossing for hazardous or oversized goods in the local area. But financial losses forced its closure last September after 33 years in business.
Until the new rules take effect in October, truckers carrying dangerous materials must cross the border at the Bluewater Bridge in Sarnia.
The Ambassador Bridge company, which requested the change, touted how it would “dramatically increase” safety across Michigan and enhance the flow of commerce in the Detroit-Windsor corridor.
“Lifting the restrictions reduces the number of miles driven by commercial motor vehicles hauling fuel in Michigan by over 250,000 miles annually, providing a substantial net safety benefit to the State of Michigan,” the Detroit International Bridge Company said in a media release.
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The company said the truckloads, which will be escorted over the bridge by safety vehicles, will not include radioactive materials or hazardous waste. It said the bridge also has a fire suppression system that meets all applicable codes, is designed to address any incidents related to the materials in question, and is regularly inspected by the Detroit and Windsor fire departments.
MDOT said it lifted the restrictions following six months of reviews that included discussions with first responders, a technical study, a public comment period, and a public hearing.
Masse said none of that occurred in Canada. The Canadian and Ontario governments also did not make submissions to the MDOT study, he said.
“I honestly believe that we have ceded our sovereignty to Michigan with regards to this,” said Masse, who held a media conference Friday at the foot of the Ambassador Bridge to address the issue. “They have actually done extensive evaluations, at least, for their communities. But on the Canadian side, we have not.”
Masse has sent a letter asking the federal government to publicly release any reports and studies that led to it allowing the change.
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“There has not been, to date, any extensive analysis that we have seen,” said Masse. “We’re asking for that to be released publicly.”
He feels the change was unnecessary because the Gordie Howe International Bridge, which will open next year, is already approved for hazardous material transportation and is being constructed accordingly.
Using the new bridge, he said, would help keep the hazardous materials off city streets.
“Wrong decision, wrong time,” said Masse. “But more importantly, we can reverse this because we have until October to make this decision go away.”
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