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State rejects Ambassador Bridge owner's request for bridge to Harsens Island

The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw and the crew of tug Joyce L. Van Enkevort cut through the ice as they escort motor vessel Algoway through the southeast bend in the lower St. Clair River near Harsens Island, Feb. 2, 2014.
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The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw and the crew of tug Joyce L. Van Enkevort cut through the ice as they escort motor vessel Algoway through the southeast bend in the lower St. Clair River near Harsens Island, Feb. 2, 2014.

The state has denied Ambassador Bridge owner MattyMoroun a permit to build a bridge between Algonac  and Harsens Island.

The island in northern Lake St. Clair is currently only accessible by car ferry or boat.  

Most residents don't want a bridge, says Rhonda Wyscaver.  She's lived on the island for 27 years.

"We want to keep the island as peaceful as we can," says Wyscaver, a bartender at Sans Souci Bar.   "It's growing by leaps and bounds as it is.  But, the way we see it, if you want a city life, live in the city."

Wyscaver says the island sees enough liveliness from Jobbie Nooner, and there's no need to add more, from "all these crazies (that would be) zipping down the road.  It changes things." 

State officials say The Detroit International Bridge Company did not show a public need for the proposed bridge.  The bridge would also destroy Great Lakes coastal wetland, and harm the wetland's ability to trap sediments and retain storm and flood waters, degrading the river.

Tracy Samilton covers energy and transportation, including the auto industry and the business response to climate change for Michigan Public. She began her career at Michigan Public as an intern, where she was promptly “bitten by the radio bug,” and never recovered.
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