Michigan now test drilling for new Detroit River bridge linking Canada, U.S.

Workers with the Michigan Department of Transportation are conducting tests to determine whether the ground can bear the weight of foundations for a new bridge over the Detroit River.

The joint U.S.-Canadian border crossing project is to supplement the already busy Ambassador Bridge and the tunnel connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ont..

Last week, workers began drilling 14 holes up to 500 metres deep near Zub Island and between Fort Wayne and the Mistersky power plant to examine the bedrock.

The Detroit Free Press quotes spokesman Bill Schreck as saying the drilling part of the bridge project is to cost US$11.3 million. The drilling is expected to be completed by June.

The Detroit River International Crossing team plans to release the ground-testing results later in the year. Similar tests on the Windsor side of the River began in October.

Officials says if a new Detroit crossing isn’t built, traffic will exceed capacity at the existing bridge and tunnel within 30 years.

Tom Burkhart, 60, of Grosse Ile, said he has concerns about how a bridge in southwest Detroit will affect people in the area. Meetings on the drilling project are scheduled for later this year.

“We’re all going to be impacted some way or another,” he said. “No matter what they do, we’re going to see additional truck traffic going through this area of Michigan.”

Source: Ap via ca.news.yahoo.com