Unless the operator of the Windsor-Detroit Truck Ferry can secure $160,000 a month in government funding, the service will shut down in six months.
The ferry's charter agreement to lease Maritime equipment expired at the end of March, but President Gregg Ward said he secured a short-term, six-month extension to continue operations.
Ward is raising a red flag now in hopes government funding, $80,000 on each side of the border, comes through.
The truck ferry has operated since 1990 and is the only legal crossing in the region for hazardous materials. The next closest border point is the Blue Water Bridge in Sarnia.
Trucks carrying materials essential to the construction of the Gordie Howe International Bridge, the EV battery plant, and the auto industry frequently use the ferry.
"You're building an EV plant because you want to be environmentally conscious. On the other hand, you're saying it's okay for all these hazmat trucks to detour through Chatham and Wallaceburg on their way up to the Blue Water Bridge, adding miles, wear and tear, emissions -- it's counter-intuitive," said Ward.
And possibly dangerous.
The ferry has also served as a redundancy at the border.
"You would think you want, as an insurance policy, to have the availability of the truck ferry until the Gordie Howe is built," he added.
The ferry carries the equivalent of 40 to 50 trucks across the Detroit River each day. Ward admitted it's not at capacity and suspects some trucks use the Ambassador Bridge illegally. If he can't keep the ferry running, he doubts all drivers will choose to travel hours out of their way to a legal hazardous material crossing.
"For the next two years, it'll be a kind of a crap shoot hoping nothing happens at the border at that time with your 94-year-old bridge," he warned. "It's not a legal crossing for hazardous material, and overwide trucks don't fit."
The ferry employs six people on the Windsor side of the river and another four in Detroit.
So far, Ward said he has yet to hear from any government officials.
