October 21, 2009

Detroit cruise-ship terminal receives stimulus funding

DETROIT

Detroit’s US$22 million ferry and Great Lakes cruise-ship terminal will help revitalize the area economy and is another fruit of the federal economic stimulus program, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says.

LaHood, U.S. senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow, Reps. John Dingell and Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick and Michigan Transportation Director Kirk Steudel toured the facility recently. It will be operating next summer.

The passenger terminal and public dock on the Detroit River is getting US$7.1 million in federal stimulus funds. The project wouldn’t be moving ahead as is without congressional approval of U.S. President Barack Obama’s economic recovery plan, said LaHood.

The project consists of a two-story headquarters on the Detroit River near the Renaissance Center and a 200-foot-by-25-foot offshore wharf serving cruise ships, ferries and water taxis connecting to nearby Windsor, Ont. and other sites along the river.

Plans have been on the drawing board for a decade, but officials didn’t agree on a site until 2004.

It’s part of a series of Detroit riverfront developments that gained momentum in 2007 with the opening of the Tri-Centennial State Park and a pedestrian walkway along the Detroit River.

Michigan Transportation director Kirk Steudel said the wharf and terminal will reinforce proposed light-rail and high-speed train service in spurring redevelopment of the region.

Associated Press

Print | Email | Comment