Inspection reports: Ambassador Bridge needs work

Details released Thursday about the two most recent annual inspection reports on the Ambassador Bridge indicate the 80-year-old international span was structurally sound but had cracked concrete, rusted railings and corrosion.

U.S. Rep. John Dingell's office handed out copies of 17 summary pages of a 2007 inspection report to the media that describe the privately owned bridge linking Detroit and Windsor, Ontario as "in overall fair condition."

"The public has the right to know the physical condition of the bridge," the Democratic congressman, who obtained the report under the Freedom of Information Act, said during a conference call from Washington.

Dingell's staff at his Dearborn office also allowed reporters to review the full 700-page report. A copy of a 2008 report reviewed by The Associated Press earlier Thursday also described the bridge as in "fair condition."

"I'm not comfortable ... that I can tell you that it is in the shape I would like it to be," Dingell said.

The reports are filled with color photos that show cracked concrete, rusted railings, peeling paint, missing or broken bolts and rivets, corrosion and frayed wires. They include diagrams of the bridge, considered one of the busiest trade corridors in the world, and hundreds of detailed diagrams.

The reports also show photos of repairs to the bridge.

The Detroit International Bridge Co., which operates the bridge, criticized Dingell's decision to release the 2007 report. The company had argued that the report - prepared for it by engineering consultants - contained competitive proprietary information, and its release creates a security risk.

"It's like a blueprint of how to blow up the bridge," spokesman Phil Frame said. "It has no public value."

The report previously had been reviewed by state, federal and Canadian officials, Frame said, but hadn't been made public. The company said it typically uses what is found in the report to help guide maintenance and repair.

"The report itself is outdated," Matt Sosnoski, vice president of operations for the bridge company, said of the 2007 report. "Many of the issues pointed out by the report have been taken care of."

Detroit International Bridge on Thursday also released letters from Mechanicsburg, Pa.-based engineering consultants Modjeski and Masters Inc., which prepared the inspection reports. The letters indicated the bridge was "structurally satisfactory for public use" following the 2007 and 2008 inspections.

Bridge owner Manuel "Matty" Moroun wants to build a second span across the Detroit River alongside the Ambassador Bridge. Federal transit officials, Michigan and some Canadian officials support a new publicly financed bridge, and Dingell said he wants inspection reports to help people decide which plan to support.

Dingell made the 2007 report public after a federal judge on Tuesday denied a request by the bridge's owner to keep the report secret. He said he also wants the bridge company to release the full 2008 report and the 2009 report when it's completed.

Frame said the company would allow Dingell to review the documents, but wouldn't make them public or give him copies.

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On the Net:

Ambassador Bridge: http://www.ambassadorbridge.com

U.S. Rep. John Dingell: http://www.house.gov/dingell