In The News

Accusations follow threats at Detroit-Windsor crossing

Two recent bomb threats at crossing points between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, area have security agents searching for suspects and officials searching for ways to spin the situation. The president of the company that owns the Ambassador Bridge has even gone so far as to say a threat against the bridge on Monday, July 16, has something to do with Canadian security cutbacks.

“We cannot confirm, but suspect, that this has something to do with Canada’s disinvestment at the border by cutting back on Customs agents,” Stamper wrote in a statement issued to media.

Stamper is the right-hand man of billionaire bridge owner and trucking magnate Matty Moroun.

The pair has gained notoriety for the lengths they’ve gone to protect their enterprise and thwart efforts by governments on both sides of the border to construct a new bridge that would compete with theirs. They’ve even spent time in jail on contempt charges for failing to make court-ordered improvements at their own bridge complex.

Stamper’s statement in the wake of the Ambassador Bridge bomb threat – just four days after a bomb threat closed the nearby Detroit-Windsor tunnel for four hours last Thursday – has infuriated union workers with the Canada Border Services Agency.

News agencies are quoting the union’s vice president as saying Stamper’s insinuation was baseless, mindless rhetoric.

The bomb threat against the Ambassador Bridge occurred at 7:20 p.m. ET on Monday, and originated on the Detroit side. The tunnel threat last week came from the Canadian side, according to media reports.

The investigation continues into both incidents.

The Detroit Free Press reported that Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder said the threats against the border-crossing facilities underscore the need for the new bridge to be built.

The Ambassador Bridge is the busiest commercial crossing between the U.S. and Canada, handling approximately 8,000 trucks and 68,000 travelers per day.

Bridge owner Moroun is the controlling stakeholder of Universal Truckload Services Inc., which owns other logistics firms.

Earlier this year, a judge took control of a bridge plaza expansion project away from Moroun and awarded it to the Michigan DOT. In turn, the DOT opened new access ramps in May, connecting the Ambassador directly to Interstate 75 and I-96/I-94 on the U.S. side.

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