Proposal for New Border Bridge Draws Critics (NPR News)

From NPR News:

by Pam Fessler

Morning Edition, May 22, 2007 · There's a border war in the Detroit area, but it's not between the United States and Canada. It's between the private owner of the Ambassador Bridge — the busiest crossing between the two countries — and a government effort to build another bridge nearby. Concerns have been raised about having one such crucial border crossing in private hands.

Some of the strongest concerns have been raised in Windsor, Ontario, home of the historic Sandwich community. Lana Talbot is secretary of the Sandwich First Baptist Church, built in 1851 by former American slaves. She lifts a panel from the floor of the church, at the end of one pew, to reveal a narrow crawl space dug into the ground.

"This is where they would go down. Sometimes they would go underneath the church, lay there, and I'm telling you there's only about two feet. Get down underneath the church and wait," she says.

Those waiting were escaped slaves, hiding from bounty hunters.

Sandwich First Baptist Church was a major terminus for the Underground Railroad. Talbot and others here worry that this slice of history could be threatened by a plan to build a new, six-lane span for the Ambassador Bridge, which links Detroit and Windsor across the Detroit River. Despite the bridge owner's objections, residents fear that access roads needed to handle tens of thousands of vehicles will destroy the area.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10298816