Dearborn, MI – Today Congressman John D. Dingell (D-MI15) made public the 2007 Inspection Report for the Ambassador Bridge.  The report, which was previously undisclosed to the public, was made available to Congressman Dingell by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) after the Congressman sent a letter requesting a copy in February of 2009.  Congressman Dingell believes that all bridge inspection reports, whether public or private, should be made available to the public as a matter of public safety.  Congressman Dingell today called on the owners of the Ambassador Bridge, the Detroit International Bridge Company (DIBC), to release copies of the 2008 and 2009 inspection reports too.

“With 11 million vehicles, including millions of heavy-duty trucks, crossing over the Ambassador Bridge every year, the public has a right to know the physical condition of the Bridge, which is the busiest international land crossing in North America,” said Dingell.  “I urge the Detroit International Bridge Company to disclose their all inspection reports to the people.  This is a matter of public safety, pure and simple.”

The Congressman made the entire report, over 700 pages long, available to members of the media in his Dearborn office today.  Starting tomorrow, Friday, October 16, 2009 the public will be able to schedule appointments with Congressman Dingell’s Dearborn office to review the report.  Members of the public who wish to schedule an appointment to examine the report should call 313-278-2936 to schedule a viewing time.

Further, the Congressman today posted the entire Executive Summary of the 2007 Inspection Report for the Ambassador Bridge on his website at: http://www.house.gov/dingell/pdf/2007_Bridge_Inspection_Report_Executive_Summary.pdf

The Ambassador Bridge in Detroit, Michigan, is the busiest international land crossing in North America, serving both Southeast Michigan and the Windsor community.  This bridge is privately-owned by the DIBC and was first constructed in 1929.  Because the bridge is privately-owned, DIBC is currently not required by the government to share its inspection reports.  In fact, it was not until 2004 that DIBC began sharing the reports with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) as a condition of the Gateway Project between DIBC and MDOT.  MDOT in turn shared these annual inspection reports with FHWA.

Said Dingell:  “I strongly believe that the public is entitled to know about the structural integrity of all bridges, and especially a bridge that was first built in 1929 and has 11 million vehicles crossing each year.  I do not wish to jeopardize the security of this bridge, nor do I wish to release confidential commercial or financial information, rather I want to ensure that the maintenance on the bridge is up-to-date and that the structure is safe for the thousands of vehicles, trucks and people that cross it each day.”

On Tuesday of this week, The Honorable Patrick J. Duggan, U.S. District Court Judge for the Eastern District of Michigan, denied the DIBC’s motion to prevent disclosure of the report by FHWA.  The Court held that “FHWA does not consider the release of the report a security risk” and “the federal government has concluded that the public’s interest in knowing the condition of bridges exceeds the potential security risk or releasing bridge inspection information.”  Further, the Court held: “DIBC fails, however, to explain how or why these harms will manifest themselves. In fact, it remains unclear to the court whether the 2007 inspection report even contains commercial or financial information.  Under these circumstances, the court believes that the actual risk of irreparable harm to DIBC is minimal.”

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