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The busiest border crossing in Canada is the Ambassador Bridge, spanning the Detroit River between Windsor and Detroit, Michigan. It carries more than one quarter of all merchandise trade between the U.S. and Canada. The massive amount of commercial truck traffic creates problems for the cities on both sides of the border. Matty Moroun, the billionaire owner of the bridge, has now received permission to build another span of 6 lanes right beside it, despite the objections of local governments on both sides of the border, who acknowledge the need for a new bridge, but want it built in another area. Anticipating the eventual success of his efforts to obtain permits for construction, Moroun, over the past 15 years, amassed over 170 residential properties near the current structure in Windsor. The municipal government, trying to block construction of this new bridge in a neighborhood that cannot handle any more truck traffic, had used heritage clauses to prevent the destruction of any of these houses. Permission to demolish the houses was granted in October 2017.
These photographs provide a record of just one street - the homes between 322 and 790 on the east side of Indian Road. The homes are all but gone now. On the west side of the street, almost every second house is still occupied, sitting in between boarded up houses, with a desolate view of the Ambassador Bridge and construction fencing across the street.
I have a connection with this street- I grew up nearby, passing it on my way to school every day. My friends lived in these houses, the desolation of which now represents the collision of public vs private interests, common good vs selfish corporate gain.