Plans for a new border crossing between Detroit, MI and Windsor, ON are moving forward, having received environmental approval on both sides of the border. Public comments will be accepted on the Canadian environmental assessment until May 29. The city of Windsor reports that it close to reaching a deal with the federal government on which land will be used for the bridge.

Currently, the only crossing between Detroit, MI and Windsor, Ontario, is the privately owned Ambassador Bridge, which does not allow hazardous cargo. The new bridge will be located in the Brighton Beach area of West Windsor and connected to Canadian provincial Highway 401. The US side will tentatively be sited in the River Rouge area and connect to I-75.

Construction is expected to start in 2009 and finish by 2014. It will reduce the distance trucks must drive to cross the border by only 5 miles, but is expected to deliver significantly more in time savings. Currently, the Ambassador Bridge is North America’s busiest border crossing, with 1.6 million truck crossings per year