1. Plaza Shrinks The Times Herald March 24, 2009 By Mike Connell

2. History Port Huron-Sarnia is the second-busiest commercial crossing on the northern border to Detroit- Windsor Twelve years ago, MDOT erected a $50 million border plaza that hovers above Pine Grove Avenue (M-25) – The current plaza was poorly designed and a traffic weave occurs that causes major and frequent traffic jams and fatal accidents into Sarnia on the 402 and in Port Huron on the I- 69/94 corridor. – Understaffed booths also contributes to congestion. Five years after the current plaza was completed, MDOT decided to build a new plaza. Now MDOT has plans to tear that plaza down, elevate M- 25, reroute it, and turn it into a five-lane highway.

3. Why? Border security – The new plaza will have 20 inspection booths (up from about 10) with state-of-the-art technology and greatly expanded inspections areas. Radiation detectors Automated license plate readers Portals for trucks to be inspected electronically The traffic jams mentioned earlier – High trade volumes 5,040 trucks and 10,080 passenger vehicles cross daily – Port Huron-Sarnia is the top northern crossing for hazardous and toxic materials.

4. What is Affected 500 people work on the bridge plaza; it is one of Port Huron’s five largest employers. – Some of those jobs will be eliminated because private customs brokers will no longer be able to lease office space in the new plaza. – 4,430 jobs will be created for construction, which is expected to last 5- 6 years. – The Federal Highway Administration rejected a request to show preference to local builders and suppliers. From the plaza restructuring alone, 56 acres of land will be affected (down from 90 acres in the original draft), that is 10.8% of Port Huron’s total land area or 7.8% of the total land and water area. The total area affected is 130 acres, 25.1% of the total land area of Port Huron or 16.6% of the total land and water area. – Some of the area will be put back onto the market once construction is finished since it will be used only for construction staging. http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mdot/m dot_recommended_alt_corridor_improvement s_271586_7.pdf

5. What is Affected cont. 125 homes will be removed, 30 businesses, and a church. – Port Huron will lose several major tax-payers, amounting to a loss of 1.6% of its taxable value and cost the city about $500,000 annually in lost property taxes. MDOT and the FHA denied Port Huron’s request to have some of the toll revenues to make up for those losses and the costs associated with the crossing, such as waste spills. The $553 million dollar project can be divided up as follows: – $319 million for construction costs – $201.9 million for design and property acquisitions – $20.75 million to relocate utilities – $11.7 million for environmental clearances

6. What $553 Million can buy About three minutes will be the average wait if the plaza is built, compared to an average delay of 27minutes today and a projected 32 minute delay if nothing is built. This would presumably save freight haulers and their customers millions of dollars a year. MDOT can build these booths, but only the U.S. Customs and Border Protection will be able to staff them in order for people to reap the benefits of the new plaza. $50.2 million dollars will be devoted to a new bridge over the Black River, which is currently in poor shape and has a dangerous traffic weave. – The new bridge will be 136 feet wider than the current one with 9 travel lanes (up from four) and an additional 14-foot wide bike path. More options for travelers with the extra lanes and more options of where to get onto the bridge.

7. Port Huron is pissed. Although most of the city has been against the new plaza and rerouting Pine Grove, Act 51 (1951) requires Michigan cities of more than 25,000 people to pay a share of the costs of rebuilding state highways within the municipality. – Port Huron has to pay 8.75% of MDOT’s share of the cost of rerouting Pine Grove, up $2 million.

8. The Economics $2 million in losses associated with paying for revisions to M-25. Present Value of property value losses is $500,000/r – $10 million at an interest rate of 5% – $25 million at a 2% rate. The value of homes and businesses that have been part of our community for decades if not centuries is not calculable if you consider the emotional ties that people have with those homes and businesses, although the money paid by MDOT to those losing their places should offset the monetary losses. Our city is going to be cut in half by this monstrosity and while Port Huron, like many municipalities, is having trouble already with its budget, these revenue losses might lead to the city’s end. But we’ll gain a really big bike path and save time while crossing the border. The benefits associated with the enhanced security and the shortened delays is very difficult to measure, and much of those benefits might not ever be seen in Port Huron. Job creation is a big benefit, but again, Port Huron might not see any part of that.

9. The Economics cont. Basically, Port Huron is stuck with a loss of $12- $27 million dollars with the only benefits being decreased traffic congestion which hopefully will save lives, a land improvement in a bike path, and increased security.

10. The Economics cont. RentRent Quantity of Land Available in Port Huron S’S D’ D Q*Q’ R* R’’ R’ The decline in available land will initially drive real estate prices upward. People losing their homes might want to stay in Port Huron, but not all of them. Thus, demand might be diminished. However, the land improvements like the bike path and decreased traffic congestion would have a positive effect on demand, perhaps offsetting the loss in demand for Port Huron real estate. If so, land values will be further driven upwards and taxable values will increase.

11. The Economics cont. If taxable values increase, the loss in property taxes initially caused by the project will be partially offset. Unfortunately, the property tax burden per capita will increase and the city might be forced to decrease its services and public goods for homeowners to be able to afford the tax.