LANSING – State Representative Lee Gonzales (D-Flint Township) today led the Michigan House in approving the Department of Transportation budget to avoid shutting down road projects statewide, which would have caused thousands of workers to be laid off or lose their jobs. Gonzales, chair of the House Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee, worked with Senate Republicans to persuade them to put politics aside and approve the spending plan before the Sept. 30 deadline.
"I am glad that thousands of Michigan residents working on these road projects can now stop worrying about how they are going to feed their families," Gonzales said. "Keeping Michigan workers on the job and stimulating the economy must be the Legislature's top priority, regardless of party affiliation. We reached a compromise that keeps the road projects going and also allows development of the new Detroit-Windsor bridge to move forward, which are both essential pieces of Michigan's economic development."
The Transportation Budget includes language authorizing the state to move forward with the development of a public bridge between Detroit and Windsor, which is needed to improve the safety and efficiency of the flow of the $122 billion in commerce that crosses the congested Ambassador Bridge annually. Every major economic interest in Michigan, including the Big Three, supports the public bridge, which will keep just-in-time deliveries coming to Michigan's auto plants and save almost a quarter of a million Michigan jobs.
Senate Republicans held up the budget process for weeks, favoring a second private bridge that would not be accountable to the public, regularly inspected or assess reasonable tolls. In addition, Canada will not accept a privately built bridge.
"There will be plenty of accountability and transparency in the bridge process, because construction cannot begin until the Legislature gives the OK," Gonzales said. "Moving forward with the planning is critical, though, because the congestion on the Ambassador Bridge and the costs to our businesses get worse every year. We can now send this plan to the governor, ensuring that Michigan's economic development and job creation efforts are not delayed."