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Canada will pay for the construction of a U.S. customs plaza on a new bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor while the U.S. government finances its operations, under a deal announced Wednesday.

A Canadian public-private partnership overseeing the bridge project will pay for building the customs plazas on both sides of the border and the United States will staff, operate and maintain the Detroit customs plaza.

"This arrangement is good for Canada and for Canadians. It ensures that all the elements of the project will ultimately be delivered through a public-private partnership," said Transport Minister Lisa Raitt at the announcement in Ottawa, Ontario. "It also allows Canada and Michigan to move the project forward immediately to its next steps which include further design work and property acquisition on the U.S. side of the border."

Raitt said the proposed span "is of vital importance to the economic prosperity of communities and businesses on both sides of the border." It's one of Canada's top infrastructure projects, she added.

The agreement appears to remove the largest lingering hurdle for the $2.1-billion New International Trade Crossing span over the Detroit River. The publicly financed bridge is scheduled to be built two miles south of the privately owned and operated Ambassador Bridge with a scheduled finish date of 2020.

The Detroit News first reported Wednesday that a deal had been reached. Earlier this month, The News also first reported that an agreement was close after several months of talks.

The Canadian government has agreed to fund construction of the bridge and be repaid for the building of the Detroit customs plaza through toll revenue. Then the U.S. government will need to seek congressional approval for money to operate and staff the Detroit plaza, which the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said would cost an estimated $100 million the first year and $50 million annually afterward.

Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, said in an interview Wednesday that Congress will need to approve the funding for the new customs plaza, but won't have to act until closer to the bridge's completion, scheduled for 2020. She said she didn't think it would be a problem.

"The bridge has to be built first," Stabenow said. "We all want to get this done as soon as possible."

Canada wanted assurances that the United States would staff the customs plaza if it built the facility.

Bridge supporter Gov. Rick Snyder welcomed the agreement.

"I'm appreciative of the work of our partners in Congress and in the Canadian government to ensure that the New International Trade Crossing – important to both of our countries – continues to move forward," Snyder said in a statement. "I will continue to encourage the U.S. government to provide the necessary resources to fund U.S. customs facilities at the NITC project and the Blue Water bridge in Port Huron."

The Obama administration previously said it was difficult to commit an estimated $250 million in the federal budget for building the Detroit plaza because of a congressional prohibition against earmarked money for certain projects.

The key was getting a commitment from the Obama administration to fund the operations and equip the plaza. Stabenow praised the Canadian government for "working creatively with us to solve this last roadblock."

She praised the bridge as key to national security and Michigan's economic future.

"This is really is the final critical step to be able to get this done," Stabenow said.

She said the precise cost of the estimated $250 million to $300 million customs plaza could change before the final design is completed.

Officials from both countries explored other options but with the Obama administration refusing to propose funding and the Republican-led House refusing to add funds for years, there was little choice, supporters said.

U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, a House Budget Committee member, embraced the agreement and pledged to ensure federal funding for the plaza would follow.

"We've overcome hurdle after hurdle to move this project forward, and today's announcement means we are full speed ahead," said Dingell, D-Dearborn. "But the U.S. government must remain committed to doing its part.

"We've never been a nation that sits back and waits for someone else to do our work. We step up, we do our fair share, and we must do what it takes to get this plaza built."

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