Privately owned bridge
On the U.S. side, the Ambassador Bridge is located beside I-75 near its intersection with the eastern terminus of I-96. The bridge crosses only 2 miles south of downtown Detroit. Since space is at a premium as a result of the developed urban and industrial setting, a discounted freight truck approaching the US side must make an abrupt, tight 180 degree turn to enter primary on the U.S. side. Freight trucks on the Canadian side have more room for a straightforward approach. The bridge entrance and exit on the Canadian side is in a less industrial setting next to the University of Windsor. Truck traffic exits onto Highway 3, which after 5-1/2 miles intersects Highway 401, a major route that heads northeast across Ontario.
The bridge and its collateral facilities are privately owned and operated by the entity known as the Ambassador Bridge. The mission of the Ambassador Bridge is to operate and maintain the bridge and collect tolls on both sides of the crossing. The Ambassador Bridge’s US owner is the Detroit International Bridge Company and its Canadian subsidiary is The Canadian Transit Company. Ambassador Bridge owns the facilities that house Canada Customs and Immigration while GSA owns the US Customs facility. Since Ambassador Bridge owns and operates the property that the tollbooths are on, the data collectors who were located by the toll collection booth in either country had to have permission from them, which was verbal.
The US and Canadian Customs mission is to protect their border. They operate the facilities and control the property where their Customs facilities are located. Data collectors who were operating beside the primary Customs checkpoint in either country had to have permission to be on the property operated by the Customs organization of that country. So even though that data collector was only a very short distance from the collector at the tollbooth, the approval to operate at that spot came from a different organization.
Tags: discounted freight truck