Michigan governor promises cross-border bridge 'in months not years'

OTTAWA - Michigan's governor has promised state approvals for a new bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ont., will take "months not years."

Rick Snyder sparked applause when he made the pledge Wednesday at a luncheon speech in Ottawa to hundreds of business people, diplomats and politicians.

The Detroit-Windsor crossing is the busiest land border point between Canada and the United States, the world's two largest trading partners.

The current Ambassador Bridge between the cities has long been a major choke point for cross-border traffic.

Snyder also fired another shot in his public-relations war against the owner of the Ambassador Bridge, Matty Maroun, whose longstanding opposition to the new span includes a lucrative advertising campaign characterizing the bridge as a wasteful public expenditure.

"We do need to build the new international trade crossing. And it will get done," Snyder said in the luncheon address to a major conference on Canada-U.S. innovation.

"It's the right thing for both our countries, for all our people, for the 10 million citizens of Michigan. And one special interest should not override what's in the best interest of millions of people," Snyder added.

"So you have my commitment: we are going to build a bridge."

Snyder said also promised an ambitious timeframe for his commitment. "You should be looking at months not years."

A new bridge would be an economic boom in terms of long-term job creation, international trade and short-term construction jobs, he said.

That's a message he said he preaches throughout the state on a weekly basis to counter what he says is the misinformation of the Ambassador Bridge's owner, who would face competition from another transit point.

"They're spending lots of money," Snyder later told reporters. "The unfortunate part is: the misleading nature of their ads. They're fundamentally wrong and that's caused a lot of the concern and problem."

Snyder said he's committed to winning over state legislators in a "thoughtful and aggressive" way, rather than resorting to the power of his office.

Snyder's remarks came as Canada and the U.S. are on the verge of announcing a new perimeter security pact that is expected to include major investments in border infrastructure.

Diplomats from both countries who listened to Snyder's speech could shed no new light Wednesday on when the new pact would be announced.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office has been pushing for an announcement with U.S. President Barack Obama. But the White House has been reluctant to commit Obama to an official announcement of a deal that it sees as more incremental than revolutionary.

Meanwhile, the Canadian ambassador to the U.S. said he was encouraged by what he heard from Snyder, a Republican who left a successful career in business when he became Michigan governor at the start of the year.

"He is a can-do governor," said Gary Doer. "And he gave a public commitment here today in Ottawa to the Canadian people."

Doer said Snyder has "gathered together a number of interests" in unions and business to win public support for the bridge project.

"This is up to the people of Michigan," added David Jacobson, the U.S. ambassador to Canada. "We'll see how it plays out."

In a recent speech, Jacobson said that two-way trade between the two countries reached $526 billion dollars last year, or more than $1 million per minute.