Bridge owner ordered to surrender control of construction project

DETROIT (AP) -- A judge last Thursday ordered the company that controls the Ambassador Bridge to surrender control of its portion of a project on the U.S. side of the international crossing to the Michigan Department of Transportation. Wayne County Judge Prentis Edwards ordered that a $16 million account be set up to fund the work. "The Detroit International Bridge Co. has not demonstrated that it is complying, or intends to comply with the court's February 2010 order," he said, adding that the state and the bridge company were still arguing in court two years after the order to complete the unfinished portion of the project and eight years after signing a contract to build the Gateway Project. The bridge company said it was making progress on its share of the $230 million project and had pledged to complete the work. "We're certainly disappointed," Godfrey Dillard, the attorney representing the bridge company, told the Detroit Free Press after the hearing. "We tried to turn the corner on this project. We tried to re-establish credibility with the judge." Godfrey said the state will take longer to complete the project than the bridge company would. In January, Edwards put 84-year-old billionaire bridge owner Manuel "Matty" Moroun and his top executive, Dan Stamper, in jail for contempt of court for failing to follow orders on the project, which includes connecting the bridge with Canada to area interstates. They were released by the Michigan appeals court. The Michigan Supreme Court said last Wednesday it wouldn't take an appeal from Moroun and Stamper. Tony Kratofil, MDOT's regional manager for southeastern Michigan, told The Detroit News he "didn't expect this" move by the judge, but said the state would do everything it could to get the project completed as quickly as possible. A next court hearing was scheduled for March 22. Published: Mon, Mar 12, 2012