Talk of building a new crossing at the Peace Bridge was renewed over the weekend when the Ontario-based chairman of the Peace Bridge Authority called for a companion span. It's a call that has support on this side of the border from Congressman Brian Higgins.
The Authority chairman, Anthony Annunziata, told the Buffalo News he'd like to see a new four-lane companion bridge next to the current three-lane structure. He'd like work to begin by 2019.
Congressman Brian Higgins on Tuesday explained to reporters during a stop in Buffalo why he supports the renewed push.
"The Peace Bridge is the busiest northern border crossing for passenger vehicles. It's the second-busiest for commercial vehicles," Higgins said. "The bridge was built 87 years ago. Since that time, the population of Southern Ontario has increase by 400 percent."
Many of those people now living in Southern Ontario represent an important customer base on this side of the border. Higgins noted that 20 percent of Buffalo Bills season ticket holders, for example, come from Southern Ontario, while 25 percent of the Buffalo Sabres' season tickets are held by Canadians. There are also the many retail outlets in Niagara Falls which have, over the years, witnessed a significant portion of sales made to Canadians.
For years, discussion of a new span generated criticisms including health risks to neighbors living near the heavy traffic at the Peace Bridge. Higgins acknowledged those concerns but told reporters that the risk of asthma, one of the examples raised in past debate, is made greater by the fumes from trucks which are forced to sit and wait in slow traffic.
The congressman urged stakeholders to reach a consensus for the good of economic growth to the region.
"We've been messing around with this thing for two decades, without major progress," Higgins said. "The American plaza is an unmitigated disaster.
"Trucks and cars are fronting each other. When they pass inspections, cars are criss-crossing each other. Not only is it inefficient, it's dangerous."
Higgins told reporters that this region only has itself to blame for its indecision. He also suggested Buffalo and Fort Erie blew a big opportunity to earn a major financial commitment to improving the span. He pointed to an example of a recent $2.4 billion commitment by the Canadian government to build a new bridge and plazas at the Detroit-Windsor crossing. One of those plazas to be funded by those Canadian dollars is on the American side.
"That should be us," Higgins said.
