MDOT to allow some flammable, corrosive materials to cross Ambassador Bridge

The Michigan Department of Transportation announced Friday they will lift some restrictions on the transportation of flammable liquids and corrosive materials across the Ambassador Bridge. The decision, which takes effect on Oct. 29, comes after the Detroit International Bridge Co., owners of the Ambassador Bridge, requested in November 2023 that MDOT lift those restrictions on fuel and materials used to make batteries.

Following the Bridge Co.'s request, MDOT opened a six-month-long input-gathering and research campaign. They reported receiving more than 80 letters from business owners, elected officials and members of the public, and also conducted a risk analysis study of their own in 2021.

Currently, the flammable Class 3 and corrosive Class 8 materials go to and from Canada at the younger Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron, and are also slated to be permitted for passage on the Gordie Howe Bridge.

More: Ambassador Bridge seeks expanded ability to allow across flammable, corrosive materials

Class 8 corrosives include things like batteries, fertilizer, detergent and pharmaceuticals, and are described by MDOT as "toxic if inhaled, ingested or absorbed through skin" in their risk study. Class 3 includes easily flammable liquids such as paint, varnish, fuel and lacquer.

New safety precautions

While the state is allowing the materials to be hauled across the Ambassador Bridge, it will be done with several safety precautions in place.

No Class 3 or Class 8 substances will be transported across the bridge during peak transit hours, MDOT said in a news release, and all shipments of hazardous materials will be accompanied by a vehicle escort.

Jocelyn Garza, communications specialist for MDOT, said the next two months will be used to determine when the safest times are for the materials to be hauled across the span. By Oct. 29, those "off-peak hours" will be decided.

Other safety protocols include an on-site fire suppression system and putting spill mitigation protocols in place, MDOT said in the news release.

Years of controversy

In 2020, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer exercised veto power to block a law that would have allowed the transportation of these materials over the Ambassador Bridge.

State Sen. Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit, also opposed the line item in the 2020 bill, which was aimed at alleviating pressure caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Chang cited environmental concerns as well as potential danger to the densely populated communities surrounding each end of the bridge.

Kenneth Dobson, vice president of the Bridge Co., issued a statement Friday celebrating the lifting of the restrictions, noting that the change is a "net safety benefit" for Michiganders.

"Lifting the restrictions reduces the number of miles driven by commercial motor vehicles hauling fuel in Michigan by over 250,000 miles annually," Dobson wrote.

Dobson said that the materials that will be transported "do not include radioactive materials or hazardous waste," adding that the bridge's fire suppression system "meets all applicable codes, is designed to address incidents arising from all of the foregoing materials and is regularly inspected by the City of Detroit Fire Department and the City of Windsor Fire and Rescue Services."

Breaking news reporter Liam Rappleye can be reached at LRappleye@freepress.com

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: MDOT to allow some flammable, corrosive materials to cross Ambassador Bridge