HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolutions - 2008.10.23 - 9638MISCELLANEOUS RESOLUTION # 08087
BY: Commissioner Eileen Kowa'', District #6
IN RE: BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS — OPPOSITION TO DETROIT RIVER
INTERNATIONAL CROSSING PROJECT
To the Oakland County Board of Commissioners
Chairperson, Ladies and Gentlemen:
WHEREAS in Oakland County, we believe that significant expenditures of public funds
should be carefully considered and justified; and
WHEREAS given the competing needs for scarce public funding, Michigan must
prioritize its expenditures and maximize the public good and benefit from each dollar
spent; and
WHEREAS The Canada-U.S.-Ontario-Michigan Border Transportation Partnership is
proposing the construction of a new bridge border crossing in Southwest Detroit known
as the Detroit River International Crossing Project ("DRIC"); and
WHEREAS the recently released Draft Environmental Impact Statement ("DEIS") for the
DRIC project estimates that the new bridge will cost between $1.27 and $1.488 billion;
and
WHEREAS it is not known whether the DR1C project will be public or private and
whether it will be funded with federal or state dollars; and
WHEREAS privately funded projects are credited towards the Federal/State 80/20
matching requirement for Federal highway funds, so that private projects allow Michigan
to potentially increase the total amount of Federal highway funds available for other
projects, such as in Oakland County for example, expansion of 1-75 and other federal
aid projects; and
WHEREAS significant public and private funds are already being expended on the
Gateway Expansion Project to improve connections to the Ambassador Bridge; and
WHEREAS the private owners of the Ambassador Bridge are already planning to
construct a second span; and
WHEREAS it appears that the need for an entirely new bridge is overstated given
declining traffic volumes, the state of the economy in the DetroitNVindsor region, and
the fundamental issue of limited funding for border security and inspection services; and
WHEREAS the Ambassador Bridge was recognized by the Federal Highway
Administration in 2002 as the most efficient border crossing and has enhanced that
recognition by providing significant expansion of inspection facilities for U.S. Customs to
improve efficiency and security at the border; and
WHEREAS despite the existence of several outstanding public policy questions,
governmental agencies have released the DEIS for a public comment period that was
scheduled to close on Apri129, 2008, and has been extended for one month, to close on
May 29, 2008
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Oakland County Board of
Commissioners express our grave concern that the DR1C project will constitute an
enormous, unnecessary, and unjustified expenditure of scarce public resources which
could be better spent on other infrastructure improvements and other pressing needs.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Oakland County Board of Commissioners urges
the Michigan Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration to
withdraw the DEIS and explain how the DRIC project is justified and how it will benefit,
rather than harm, transportation programs in Oakland County and the State of Michigan.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Oakland County Board of Commissioners
requests the Oakland County Clerk to forward copies of this adopted resolution to the
Michigan Department of Transportation, the United States Department of
Transportation's Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Senator Carl Levin, U.S. Senator
Debbie Stabenow, Congressman Joe Knollenberg, Congressman Thaddeus McCotter,
Congressman Sandy Levin, Congressman Mike Rogers, and Michigan Governor
Jennifer Granholm.
Chairperson, we move the adoption of the foregoing resolution.
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Resolution #08087 May 8, 2008
The Chairperson referred the resolution to the General Government Committee. There were no
objections.