Sault bridge authority takes new name

The Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge is operating under a new governing banner.

The name is changing from the Joint International Bridge Authority and to newly formed Sault Ste. Marie Bridge Authority.

The 4.5-kilometre span is jointly operated by the Michigan Department of Transportation and the St. Mary's River Bridge Company, on the Canadian side.

Bridge general manager, Phil Becker, said the meeting of the new board of directors and a revised intergovernmental agreement “are an affirmation” of the ongoing partnership between the two cities.

The board consists of eight appointed members, four Canadians and Americans each.

This year, the Canadian co-owners became a Crown subsidiary of the Federal Bridge Corporation Ltd (FBCL) that manages international crossings including the Thousand Islands Bridge and the Seaway International Bridge.

With that new Canadian ownership came a long-awaited $44.1 million grant from the federal government to make capital improvements to the Canadian Border Services plaza.

FBCL Micheline Dube said in a report that the upcoming construction project “will bring jobs and provide short-term economic relief, and in the long-term it will position the Sault to achieve its full potential as a major commercial crossing.”