DETROIT – The New International Trade Crossing between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, is now all but a done deal after an agreement Wednesday that would have Canada financing most of the customs plaza in exchange for toll revenue.

The $2.1 billion new bridge would be built by an international public-private partnership with most of the initial financing coming from Canada. Reports in the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News indicated the United States has agreed to provide staff for the new customs plaza, at a cost of $100 million the first year and $50 million each year thereafter.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Transport Canada Minister Lisa Raitt confirmed the agreement late Wednesday allowing the bridge project to move forward with the cost of facilities on the U.S. side covered by toll revenue. Officials had signaled, in a recent News story, that a deal was imminent.

“The United States has supported the construction of the NITC throughout the development process,” Homeland Security said in a statement. “During this time, it has granted numerous approvals for the project, including issuance of a presidential permit for construction. The United States will continue to support NITC as it is built and following its completion.”

“The arrangement is good for Canada and for Canadians,” Raitt said in a statement. “It ensures that all the elements of the project will ultimately be delivered through a public-private partnership. It also allows Canada and Michigan to move the project forward immediately to its next steps, which include further design work and property acquisition on the U.S. side of the border.”

The agreement still left some decisions to be made, Snyder spokesperson Dave Murray said.

“Today’s agreement is a significant point in the progress of the NITC, and we know the vital infrastructure project will continue moving forward,” he said. “There is, however, much work to do as we move ahead, and there are still many details to be worked out. Plans call for a freeway-to-freeway connection to the bridge, and that could be links to I-96 or I-75. We’re still in the early stages, but this year we should be able to see some important details come together.”

Michigan officials also hailed the agreement.

“I’m appreciative of the work of our partners in Congress and in the Canadian government to ensure that the New International Trade Crossing – important to both of our countries – continues to move forward,” Governor Rick Snyder, a long-time backer of the new bridge, said in a statement. “I will continue to encourage the U.S. government to provide the necessary resources to fund U.S. customs facilities at the NITC project and the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron.”

“As a long-time advocate for the New International Trade Crossing, I am pleased that the United States and Canada have reached an agreement on construction of a new customs plaza, removing a significant obstacle that has delayed this critical infrastructure project from moving forward,” U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Township) said in a statement. “The NITC will create thousands of Michigan jobs, enhance trade with Canada, our closest trading partner, and help transform Michigan into a transportation and logistics hub for trade, manufacturing and innovation.”

Peters said he had urged the Obama administration to cover the staffing costs for the new facility.

“This agreement clears one of the final hurdles to building this hugely important bridge,” U.S. Rep. Sander Levin (D-Royal Oak) said in a statement. “Both Michigan and the entire nation will benefit from the New International Trade Crossing and I appreciate the perseverance and hard work of everyone involved in making this agreement a reality.”

“Completing the New International Trade Crossing is a top priority for Michigan that will bring millions of dollars into the economy and create hundreds – if not thousands – of jobs,” U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn) said. “We’ve overcome hurdle after hurdle to move this project forward, and today’s announcement means we are full speed ahead. But the U.S. government must remain committed to doing its part. We’ve never been a nation that sits back and waits for someone else to do our work. We step up, we do our fair share, and we must do what it takes to get this plaza built.”

The bridge does still face a court challenge from Ambassador Bridge owner Manuel “Matty” Moroun, but so far Mr. Moroun’s challenges both to the new bridge and to requirements for improvements to his own bridge have been unsuccessful.

Moroun has argued, among other things, that federal law gives him exclusive right to a bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor.

This story was provided by Gongwer News Service. To subscribe, click on Gongwer.Com