A bridge too many? Falling border crossings raise questions about need for new span

Canada's declining position as a trading partner of the U.S. raises questions of whether two new six-lane bridges in Detroit between the Ambassador and the Howe bridges are needed, said Laurie Trautman, director of the Border Policy Research Institute at Western Washington University.

"If you're just talking about the traffic, it doesn't make sense," Trautman said. "If there's other reasons — security reasons, not wanting private ownership of a bridge, the (highway) approach — that's different. But if you're just talking about needs of traffic, it doesn't add up."

Trautman added: "And then you throw NAFTA into the mix, and who knows what's going to happen?"