Detroit bridge vote fails 1st hurdle

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - A Michigan Senate panel has failed to approve a bill authorizing a new bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario.

The Senate Economic Development Committee voted on the measure Thursday after a one-day delay.

Two Republicans supported the measure and three opposed it. Democrats abstained from voting after complaining the bill didn't do enough to protect residents in southwest Detroit whose neighborhood would be affected by the new span.

It's unclear if the measure now will be moved and taken up in a separate Senate committee where it might have a better chance of passage.

Republican Gov. Rick Snyder says the New International Trade Crossing is "critically important" to expanding trade, but the private owners of the Ambassador Bridge already spanning the Detroit River oppose a second bridge.