Spanner in the Works

Twe

nty-three bridges link Canada and the U.S. They have been good metaphors for the bilateral relationship: sturdy, workmanlike, impervious to gusts of rough weather. At least until last week. A long-awaited permit for new construction at the most venerable of those spans--the Peace Bridge across the Niagara River, one of the busiest commercial intersections in North America--threatened to push both countries into litigation and acrimony.

The permit from the U.S. Coast Guard was the final step needed to begin work on a matching bridge between Buffalo, N.Y., and Fort Erie, Ont. Some 30 regulatory agencies in Canada and the U.S. have already approved the construction plans. But the new bridge may never be built. "The permit puts us where we hoped we wouldn't be--in court," says Tony Bullock, spokesman for U.S. Senator Daniel Moynihan, a New Yorker who has been leading a Buffalo-based coalition against the so-called twin span. The coalition's alternative--a radically different bridge that would swoop across the river--is bitterly opposed by the Canadians in Fort Erie. Buffalo Mayor Tony Masiello calls the impasse "painful." He supports a proposed lawsuit by the city council to halt the twin-span project on environmental grounds.

This U.S.-Canada confrontation began as a clash of generations inside Buffalo, and in an argument about the Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority, which has managed the Peace Bridge uneventfully for the past 65 years. With five Canadian members appointed by the federal government in Ottawa and five Americans named by the Governor of New York State, the PBA operates the toll bridge as a private business. "They're not accountable to anyone, which is why we're in this situation now," says Bill Banas, 28, a Buffalo software engineer. "A lot of young people here are tired of decisions made in smoke-filled rooms."

Banas is a leader of New Millennium, a group of professionals in their late 20s and early 30s who are looking for ways to reverse Buffalo's economic decline. Seizing on the bridge project as a symbol of the city's future, they lobbied municipal officials, who had accepted the PBA's argument that replacing the Peace Bridge would be expensive and time consuming. New Millennium argued that Buffalo deserved better than the current staid bottle-green structure--their campaign buttons declared, IT'S SO UGLY, NOBODY WILL EVEN JUMP FROM IT. They rounded up 5,000 signatures in support of the fancier state bridge. Now New York State's two U.S. Senators, the attorney general and Governor George Pataki are on their side. "No issue has galvanized Buffalo like this since the Vietnam War," marvels Bruce Jackson, professor of American culture at the State University of New York at Buffalo.

New Millennium's efforts are joined with the talents of Bruno Freschi, dean of the Buffalo university's school of architecture and planning. Freschi is a Vancouver native who holds an Order of Canada for work that includes designing Expo 86. This time he worked with noted San Francisco designer T.Y. Lin to plan what would be the world's first curved suspension bridge. "A region of this size needs a public icon," explains Freschi. "Think of San Francisco's Golden Gate." The trouble was, over a dozen alternative designs had already been reviewed and rejected by the PBA in the previous five years. Canadians were fed up.

"The twin span always made sense to us logistically," says Mayor Wayne Redekop of Fort Erie. "This river is just half a mile across--it's not San Francisco." Renato Romanin, director of the Fort Erie Economic Development Corporation, believes the Americans are pushing their weight around. Says Romanin: "They don't seem to be concerned about the opinions of the 28,000 people on our side, who need the bridge as much as they do." Signature-bridge advocates admit they could have done a better job of explaining themselves to their neighbors. But Fort Erie's conservatism frustrates the boosters. "This should be a gateway for both countries," says Jeff Belt, another New Millennium leader. "If we don't think boldly, we'll lose our potential as a major processing center in NAFTA's north-south trade corridor."

At the PBA, such accusations cause a distinct chill. "Our board works very well," says Deanna DiMartile, a Fort Erie resident and a board member. "It's only when outside influences step in that things break down." Cracks are beginning to show. After the low bid for the twin span came in at $89 million, 30% over original estimates, the five U.S. directors asked for more time to study alternatives. They were rebuffed by the Canadians. Tempers have reached the boiling point.

This quarrel needs a referee. But Ottawa has been mysteriously silent. "We prefer to leave bridge decisions up to the authority," an official at the Canadian Department of Transport told TIME. That's a blueprint for no bridge at all.