Riverfront Conservancy closer to complete riverwalk after Morouns walk back concrete plant plans

The path is clearing for the Detroit Riverwalk’s bridge-to-bridge vision.

After years of negotiating, the Detroit International Bridge Co., owned by the Moroun family, announced they would pivot from their initial plans for building a concrete crushing plant along the west riverfront. This decision takes the Riverfront Conservancy one step closer to its goal of creating a 5.5-mile path along the Detroit River in hopes of taming the formerly industrial strip of land for a bridge-to-bridge riverwalk.

The Riverfront Conservancy has been working to open the path for a longer riverwalk, and this decision is a victory for them, though the path is still not clear. The final three-quarter-mile stretch of land that would complete the path has long been held by a number of heavy industrial and transportation companies — many with ties to the Bridge Co.

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Currently, the Bridge Company and CSX Transportation maintain a joint operating agreement over the land upon which the Conservancy hopes to build the riverwalk. Negotiations will continue with CSX Transportation and other stakeholders to open that space up. The concrete plant changing locations is one domino of many that the Conservancy needed to fall for the bridge-to-bridge riverwalk to be completed.

“We applaud the decision of the Detroit International Bridge Company to look at an alternate site for the concrete plant,” said Marc Pasco, director of communications for the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy. “We are hopeful for continued talks as we work toward connecting the Riverwalk all the way to Riverside Park on the West Riverfront.”

This decision is good news for the conservancy during a time of turmoil. Last month, the Riverfront Conservancy’s former CFO, William Smith, was charged with embezzling $40 million and is under investigation.

The Bridge Co. did not respond to a request for comment Monday. The company is owned by the Moroun family, one of Detroit's most powerful families which owns the Ambassador Bridge and several other trucking and transportation businesses.