Homeland Security chief Markwayne Mullin told members of Congress Customs & Border Patrol is “good to go” whenever trade talks between the U.S. and Canada are completed.
Opening of the newly constructed bridge linking Detroit and Ontario would enhance trade and travel.
“We have the personnel dedicated, ready to move,” Mullin said during testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee Monday. There are still negotiations between Canada and the United States … that has to be resolved. But we’re as far as we can go without the sign off from the bridge and the final agreement between the two countries.”
Asked about the holdup by Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, Mullin also said that the bridge contractor hasn’t signed off on “final stuff,” missing a May 1 deadline, “so we’re waiting on that to take place,” according to reporting from The Detroit News.
A spokeswoman for the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, which has overseen bridge construction, told The News the span is “progressing well towards a spring opening.” “The exact opening date depends on the completion of the ongoing quality reviews and testing and commissioning activities,” WDBA spokeswoman Tara Carson told The Detroit News by email.
