DETROIT – Governor Rick Snyder will be making an announcement on a new connection from Detroit to Canada. The proposed bridge is being called the New International Trade Crossing and is expected to bring in lots of jobs for Metro Detroiters.
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After years of political infighting, and big money spent on nasty ads attacking the plan, Gov. Snyder along with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood are announcing a deal at 3pm. Local 4 will be live streaming the announcement right here on clickondetroit.com
The NITC proposal calls for the span to be built in the Delray neighborhood and would deposit drivers in Canada onto the Windsor Essex Parkway. Detroit residents have heard about a potential plan for years and tell Local 4 they're excited at the prospect of getting a buyout of their homes.
Kevin Teasley who moved back to Detroit to help out at home after nine years in the army said, "I'm very excited about this. My parents live in this neighborhood and now they can get out, move on. Maybe retire in Florida."
The current plan calls for the removal of up to 250 homes in the now blighted Delray area. Friday's announcement is just the beginning of the process. The expectation is Snyder and the other officials will announce the deal is being done without any monies from Michigan taxpayers going to the project.
It's been a long road to get here. Snyder has been pushing the plan which he says is all about jobs since taking office. The Governor has met a lot of resistance both from Ambassador Bridge owner Manuel "Matty" Moroun and the Michigan Legislature. He didn't give up and kept pushing. Now dual announcements are scheduled for Friday. The first is in Windsor at 12:45pm and then in Detroit at Cobo Center at 2:45pm.
In an economic impact study released Thursday it estimates in the first year the project will generate more than 6,000 jobs and eventually bring 2.2 billion dollars in product output and services.
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