Canada orders safety improvements to Ambassador Bridge linking Windsor and Detroit

In a photo from Jan. 6, 2015 in Detroit, the Ambassador Bridge leading into Windsor, Ontario is seen from Detroit. (AP / Carlos Osorio)

OTTAWA -- Transport Canada says it has found safety deficiencies on the Canadian side of one of the busiest border crossings with the United States.

The agency says the deficiencies concern a section of railings and curbs on the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Windsor, Ont. to Detroit.

Transport Canada said Saturday that it issued an emergency directive to Canadian Transit Company, which owns the bridge.

It has called for temporary concrete barriers between traffic and the outside curb as a safety precaution.

Transport Minister Marc Garneau says he hopes the Canadian Transit Company will do everything it can to speed repair work.

The Ambassador Bridge is the second largest land border port of entry for total traveller volumes into Canada and the busiest in terms of commercial vehicles.