The owner of the Ambassador Bridge connecting Detroit to Windsor, Ontario, has filed suit against the Canadian and United States governments and the U.S. Coast Guard claiming they are trying to get him to sell the bridge and prevent him from building a second span alongside the existing one.
The suit was filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., by the Detroit International Bridge Co. and the Canadian Transit Co., both owned by billionaire trucking company owner Manuel “Matty” Moroun.
Moroun recently lost a legal battle with Michigan and Detroit over land they say he illegally appropriated on the Detroit side of his bridge for new toll booths, traffic ramps, a truck plaza and a duty free shop.
In the wake of the Michigan court decision, the Coast Guard terminated Moroun’s application to build a second span over the Detroit River.
Moroun has been battling the Canadian and U.S. governments over bridge issues for years. The two countries are moving ahead with plans to build a publically-owned bridge downstream from the Ambassador Bridge.
By Michele Fuetsch
Staff Reporter
