WINDSOR

Canadian-funded bridge project wins a battle in a U.S. courtroom

The Canadian Press Published Friday, May 30, 2014 7:19PM EDT Last Updated Friday, May 30, 2014 7:26PM EDT

The Ambassador Bridge spans the Detroit River dividing Canada and the U.S., is shown on Friday June 15, 2012. A long-awaited new bridge at Canada's busiest border crossing will ease traffic gridlock and encourage trade. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mark Spowart

Text:

WASHINGTON DC - An American court has rejected an attempt to block a major Canada-U.S. bridge project.

The Washington, D.C., District Court has denied a request for an injunction to halt a permit for the proposed Windsor-Detroit bridge.

The request came from the private company that owns the aging Ambassador Bridge, which handles nearly one-third of Canada-U.S. trade.

That private company, owned by Detroit's Moroun family, says two national governments are conspiring against its own rival project to build a private bridge.

As it waits for its own permits, the company requested an injunction to block the U.S. Coast Guard from granting a key permit to the public bridge.

In an opinion released today, the court rejected that request -- calling it preliminary, and concluding there's no proof the Coast Guard permit will cause irreparable harm to the Moroun family project.