Michigan bridges to Canada remain open following Rainbow Bridge explosion
Bridges between Michigan and Canada remained open on Wednesday afternoon following an explosion that left two people dead and shut down the Rainbow Bridge crossing near Niagara Falls in New York.
On the Blue Water Bridge from Port Huron to Sarnia in Ontario, Canada, it's "business as usual," but authorities are in touch with law enforcement, said Alexandre Gauthier, spokesman for the Federal Bridge Corporation, which oversees operations on the Blue Water Bridge and International Bridge in Sault Ste. Marie in the Upper Peninsula.
"We're open; all our bridges are still open. We are in contact with law enforcement and we're just following their guidance," Gauthier said.
Online wait times at the Blue Water Bridge showed about an hour wait at 3 p.m. to enter the United States, a higher-than-average wait for this time of day, but could also be a longer wait because of holiday travel. The Ambassador Bridge showed a five minute wait.
Tara Carson — director of communications for the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, the organization building the Gordie Howe International Bridge — wrote in an emailed statement that construction sites are staffed by security personnel and access to those sites are limited to those working on the project.
"We have taken the proactive step of increasing security presence at this time," she wrote. "Construction remains ongoing."
Check back for updates on this developing story.
To reach the reporters: Lily Altavena at laltavena@freepress.com and Kylie Martin at kmartin@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan bridges remain open following Rainbow Bridge explosion