Senator Patterson offered the following resolution:
Senate Resolution No. 57.
A resolution to express opposition to the study and construction of an international border crossing in the Downriver area.
Whereas, The Detroit-Windsor and Port Huron-Sarnia border crossings of Southeast Michigan/Southwest Ontario are the busiest international crossings in North America, representing nearly 50 percent of the traffic volume crossing the United States/Canadian border. In 2000, American trade with Ontario reached $243 billion, which is larger than the total U.S. trade with Japan; and
Whereas, More than 75,000 vehicles use the Southeast Michigan/Southwest Ontario border crossings each day. Traffic at the Michigan and Canadian ports of entry has grown 44 percent from 19.7 million vehicles in 1990 to 28.4 million vehicles in 2000. Truck traffic at these ports has more than doubled from 2.5 million vehicles in 1990 to 5.1 million in 2000. Over the next thirty years, the cross-border traffic along the Detroit-Windsor corridor is projected to increase 40 percent in car traffic and 120 percent in truck traffic. This corresponds to an increase in daily cross-border car trips from 52,000 to 70,000 and an increase in daily cross-border truck trips from 13,000 to 28,000; and Whereas, The Canada-US-Ontario-Michigan Border Transportation Partnership is conducting a Planning/Need and Feasibility Study to examine existing and future cross-border transportation problems and opportunities within the Southeast Michigan and Southwest Ontario region. In June 2005, the partnership proposed several international crossing alternatives that address these identified transportation problems and opportunities. Each alternative would involve massive reconfiguration to either the I-275 or I-75 interchange area and significant expansion of either King Road, Pennsylvania Road, or Eureka Road to connect the proposed interchange areas to the river crossing plazas; and
Whereas, The Detroit River International Crossing Study proposes 12 river crossing plazas along the riverfront from Belle Isle to Grosse Ile. Four of the proposed plazas are located in the Downriver area. The first plaza consists of 173 acres located on the northeast corner of Fort Street and King Road in Trenton near the McLouth Steel property. The second proposed plaza is located in Trenton on the east side of Jefferson Avenue, north of King Road, on 217 acres owned by McLouth Steel. The third proposed plaza consists of 85 acres located at the Atofina Chemical Company, located south of Pennsylvania Road, west of Longsdorf Street in Riverview. The fourth proposed Downriver plaza is located at the Atofina Chemical Company on 85 acres located off Pennsylvania Road, east of Biddle Avenue, and south of Wyandotte Shores Golf Club in Wyandotte; and
Whereas, The reconfiguration of an interchange, the expansion of major roadways, and the construction of a plaza will have adverse effects on the quality of life in Downriver's 19 cities and townships. In particular, these wholesale transportation-related transformations will lead to plummeting property values that will have a devastating financial impact on the whole of Wayne County, particularly public schools. These changes will bring about excessive traffic-related noise that may have to be mitigated by the erection of intrusive noise barriers, thereby eroding community aesthetics and fueling negative public perception; and
Whereas, These transportation-related changes will also result in increased passenger vehicle and truck traffic. Residents near the recommended bridge plaza will face unacceptable health risks from the degraded local air quality caused by heavy-duty truck exhaust emissions. Heavy-duty trucks burn diesel fuel and are major emitters of nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. Nitrogen oxides emitted by on-road vehicles are a major contributor to high ozone levels in Southeast Michigan. The Downriver area will incur significant costs just to control emissions from current vehicle traffic in order to attain the federal ozone standard. Fine particulate matter emitted by diesel and gasoline engines is implicated as the cause of premature death in persons with cardiac and/or respiratory ailments after short-term exposure as well as being linked to an increased risk of lung cancer following long-term exposure; and
Whereas, The partnership also proposes the construction of one of three alternative bridges connecting the river crossing plazas to Ontario via Grosse Ile. Any one of the alternative bridges would produce intolerable traffic noise that could not be mitigated by noise barriers, vegetation, buffer zones, or any other noise abatement method. The proposed King Road plazas bridge would span Grosse Ile along Horse Mill road, with an attendant plaza facility near Church and East River Roads. This proposed facility would either destroy or have a decidedly negative impact on hundreds of privately-owned residences, a Presbyterian Church and cemetery, a Roman Catholic Church and cemetery, sensitive wetlands, marshes, woods and transitional prairies, and a number of locations on the Michigan Register of Historic Sites. The proposed facility would also obliterate the historical landing site of Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, who camped on Grosse Ile more than 300 years ago before proceeding upriver to settle modern-day Detroit. The two proposed Pennsylvania Road plaza bridges would extend over Hennepin Point, located on the northern end of Grosse Ile. Any one of the proposed bridges will pose significant problems for pilots flying out of Grosse Ile Municipal Airport; endanger the 27 species of waterfowl, 17 species of raptors (eagles, hawks, and falcons), 48 species of nonraptors (loons, warblers, neotropical songbirds, cranes, and shore birds); and bring peril to numerous species of dragonflies and butterflies that migrate to the Grosse Ile coastal wetlands; and
Whereas, The construction of an international bridge crossing in the Downriver area will have a detrimental impact on the Detroit River, the first river to be designated a bi-national Heritage River and an International Wildlife Refuge. As such, the river's marshes, coastal wetlands, islands, shoals, and other natural features are to be preserved and restored to protect wildlife habitat. The Detroit River is also a primary source of drinking water for Wayne County. This is important because an international bridge crossing may involve the dredging of the Black Lagoon, which is directly downstream from the McLouth Steel property. Sediments in this area have been well documented to contain high levels of mercury, PCBs, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, zinc, oils, and grease, substances that are known to be hazardous to humans, wildlife, and aquatic species. Lead contamination levels in this vicinity also exceed human contact standards. Moreover, the construction of an international bridge will have injurious consequences on the small streams, ponds, and other sensitive ecosystems of the Downriver watershed caused by road salt runoff. Road deicing salts are contributing to the gradual salinization of the Detroit River and area groundwater supplies; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate, That we express opposition to the study and construction of an international border crossing in the Downriver area; and be it further
Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Office of the Governor, the Michigan Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, the President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and the members of the Michigan congressional delegation.