LANSING – Want to learn more about the Gordie Howe International Bridge that will link Detroit to Windsor? The Michigan Department of Transportation is seeking public comment on its 2040 long-range plan that includes completing the span by 2020. On April 20, Michigan State University’s Institute for Public Policy and Social Research will play host.
The Forum starts at 11:30 a.m. in the Mackinac Room, fifth floor, House Office Building across from the state Capitol in downtown Lansing. The event is free and open to the public. A light lunch will be served. Reservations are necessary as lunch is first-come, first-served.
As now planned, the bridge links Windsor, Canada to Detroit, Michigan, increasing employment, economic development and cross-border trading opportunities. The rendering above, courtesy of the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, shows how the new span might look as cars cross over the Detroit River and above shipping traffic.
MDOT will host a series of public meetings during May and June on its long-range transportation plan. The draft plan is expected to be available on Monday, May 9.
Forum speakers are:
Andrew S. Doctoroff, special projects adviser to Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder. As an attorney, he specializes in mass tort product liability defense, complex commercial litigation, labor and employment law, and media law.
Bill Anderson, Ph.D., Ontario Research Chair in Cross-Border Transportation Policy, founding director of the Cross-Border Transportation Studies Institute and professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Windsor in Canada.
Zeenat Kotval-Karamchandani, Ph.D., assistant MSU professor of Urban & Regional Planning. Her current research focuses on health impacts, travel behavior and environmental burdens of residents in inner cities and their surrounding suburban areas in Michigan.
Roger Hamlin, Ph.D., is MSU professor of urban planning and public administration studying economic development activity related to the Gordie Howe International Bridge. He has directed several international projects for IPPSR.
Register online or by calling 517-355-6672.
