2020 Vision: A New Windsor-Detroit Bridge

Via CP: WINDSOR, Ont. -- Transport Minister Lisa Raitt and Michigan Gov Rick Snyder are expected to announce a U.S.-Canadian panel today to oversee plans for a new bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ont.

Sources tell The Canadian Press the panel is expected to try moving the project forward but the proposed New International Trade Crossing will still need funding from U.S. Homeland Security.

The Canadian government has already agreed to finance the construction of the $1-billion bridge, which would open in 2020.

The total cost of the project would be about $4 billion, including work on freeway interchanges, customs plazas in both countries and infrastructure work.

The final permit for the project was issued last month after a U.S. court rejected a request for an injunction filed by the private company that owns the existing Ambassador Bridge.

The next step involves securing funding for a U.S. customs facility, along with acquiring land on the American side.

Ambassador Bridge owner Matty Moroun has fought the proposal for the new bridge for years, instead pushing for the building of an additional span to his private bridge.