Some Businesses Unhappy with $4.5B Bridge

The planned Gordie Howe International Bridge will link Windsor, ON with Detroit, MI. But, the Michigan Department of Transportation’s efforts to buy up residential and commercial land for the bridge, travel plaza and connection to Interstate 75 is running afoul with business owners who are not happy with the money they are being offered to leave their properties and relocate. Business owners in Delray, MI, specifically, are likely to go to court to bridge the gap between MDOT’s market-rate offer, and the actual relocation costs.

As of the week of Feb. 20, 2017, MDOT purchased or taken control of 394 parcels, approximately 62% of the entire land needed for the $4.5 billion project. The agency, in the meantime, has commenced condemnation proceedings against owners of 30 commercial or industrial parcels, and plans to file lawsuits within the next two weeks if the property owners don’t accept the offers.

Subscribe to Connect Daily National