Ambassador Bridge owner files lawsuit in bid to ship hazardous material across border
CBC News | Posted: February 23, 2017 8:47 PM | Last Updated: February 23, 2017
Bridge owner Matty Moroun losing millions of dollars in revenue, according to court documents
The owner of the Ambassador Bridge has taken legal action in his fight to allow the shipment of hazardous material along his privately owned international crossing, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday.
Documents from the U.S. District Court show the Detroit International Bridge Company wants to overturn a decision by the Michigan Department of Transportation that prohibits the shipment of materials, such as explosive gases, flammable material, organics and poison.
- Ambassador Bridge owner sues City of Windsor
- Ambassador Bridge owner looks for renewed relationship with Ottawa
The Bridge Company — owned by billionaire Matty Moroun — argues the department of transportation does not have the authority to prohibit the shipment of hazardous materials across a privately owned bridge.
Moroun's two bridge companies — he also owns the Canadian Transit Company, which operates the Canadian side of the crossing — have been losing money because of the limitation, according to the court documents.
"The DIBC and the CTC have lost and continue to lose millions of dollars in revenue from decreased truck traffic," the filing states.
Profits vs public safety
Hazardous materials are permitted to cross the international border by way of the Detroit-Windsor Truck Ferry.
The company's president Greg Ward said Moroun is putting his profits ahead of public safety by once again trying to overturn the well-established regulations.
"You're prioritizing your income over what is in the best interest of the public," he said.
Moroun's bridge company applied to have the routing for hazardous material reviewed by the department of transportation back in 2008. The court documents filed by the bridge company say the department, by 2012, recommended hazardous material be permitted across the Ambassador Bridge.
Two years later, the department's director Kirk Steudle "reversed the recommendations of his professional engineering staff," according to the court documents.
The bridge company claims Steudle's decision creates more hazardous waste traffic on state-owned toll routes, which results in more revenue for the state.
More than 25 per cent of all merchandise trade between the U.S. and Canada crosses the Ambassador Bridge. It's estimated that between $500 million and $750 million USD in trade and an average of 10,000 commercial vehicles pass daily over the Ambassador Bridge.