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| length = 〔 | width = | clearance = | below = 〔 | traffic = 10,000+ trucks per day, 4,000+ autos per day | begin = August 16, 1927 | complete = November 6, 1929〔 | open = 〔 | closed = | toll = US$5.00 / CA$6.25 | lat = 42.312 | long = -83.074 | coordinates_display = inline,title | coordinates_region = US-MI_type:landmark | map_type = USA Michigan }} The Ambassador Bridge (officially the Ambassador International Bridge) is a suspension bridge that connects Detroit, Michigan, in the United States, with Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It is the busiest international border crossing in North America in terms of trade volume: more than 25 percent of all merchandise trade between the United States and Canada crosses the toll bridge. A 2004 Border Transportation Partnership study showed that 150,000 jobs in the region and US$13 billion in annual production depend on the Detroit–Windsor international border crossing. The bridge is owned by Grosse Pointe billionaire Manuel "Matty" Moroun through the Detroit International Bridge Company in the United States and the Canadian Transit Company in Canada. In 1979, when the previous owners of the bridge put it on the New York Stock Exchange and shares were traded, Moroun was able to buy shares, eventually acquiring the bridge. The bridge carries 60 to 70 percent of commercial truck traffic in the region.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title= Traffic Data )〕 Moroun also owns the Ammex Detroit Duty Free Stores at both the bridge and the tunnel. A new bridge, the Gordie Howe International Bridge, proposed by the Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC) commission, has been approved for construction by the Canadian and United States governments. The new bridge will be a government-owned and -operated crossing further downriver between Detroit and Windsor. ==History== After the American Civil War, Detroit–Windsor was a destination stop for railroads in the area. The Michigan Central and the Great Western railroads in addition to others operated on either side of the border connecting Chicago with the Atlantic Seaboard. To cross the Detroit River, these railroads operated ferries between docks on either side. The ferries lacked the capacity to handle the shipping needs of the railroads, and frequently there were 700–1,000 freight cars waiting to cross the river, with numerous passengers delayed in transit. Warehouses in Chicago were forced to store grain that could not be shipped to eastern markets and foreign goods were stored in eastern warehouses waiting shipment to the western United States. The net effect of these delays increased commodity prices in the country, and both merchants and farmers wanted a solution from the railroads. The Michigan Central proposed the construction of a tunnel under the river with the support of their counterparts at the Great Western Railway. Construction started in 1871 and continued until ventilating equipment failed the next year; work was soon abandoned. Attention turned in 1873 to the alternative of building a railroad bridge over the river. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers commissioned a study of a bridge over the Detroit River. Representatives of the shipping industry on the Great Lakes opposed any bridge with piers in the river as a hazard to navigation. Discussions continued for the remainder of the decade to no avail; a bridge over the Detroit River was not approved. The U.S. Congress requested a new study for a bridge in 1889, but no bridge was approved. Finally, the Michigan Central built the Detroit River Tunnel in 1909–10 to carry trains under the river. This tunnel benefited the Michigan Central and Great Western railroads, but the Canada Southern Railway and other lines still preferred a bridge over the river. Plans for a bridge were revived in 1919 to commemorate the end of World War I and to honor the "youth of Canada and the United States who served in the Great War". The Ambassador Bridge opened November 15, 1929, its total cost of $23.5 million reportedly 1% under the budget. A Canadian immigration inspector jumped to his death in April 1930, shortly after the bridge opened. The bridge has been used by other suicide jumpers. After it opened, high divers considered it as a venue for a record; but after measurements of the height and currents were taken into account, they were dissuaded and abandoned the attempt. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ambassador Bridge」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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