On Nov.

6 Michigan voters will be making their ways to the polls to vote on proposal 6, if voted yes on will let voters decide whether or not Michigan will have an international bridge built connecting Michigan to Canada. If voted no on it will give politicians decide on whether or not Michigan will have a new international bridge built connecting Michigan to Canada. If Proposal 6 is enacted it would require voters to approve any new bridge or tunnel from Michigan to Canada to be built. Governor Rick Snyder announced an interlocal bridge deal with Canada, but Ambassador Bridge owner Manuel Matty Moroun and his family were thinking ahead spending nearly $4.6million on the ballot measure, about half to collect signatures. Legally, it may not matter if voters OK the amendment in November because supporters of the project say the interlocal agreement is binding regardless an argument sure to be tested if Proposal 6 is approved. On paper, it seems like a sweetheart deal for Michigan, whose taxpayers will not directly be on hook for the price tag. Lt. Gov. Brian Calley said The proposal is really nothing more than a delay tactic and effort by one special interest to abuse our constitution to provide protection for his monopoly. But the Morouns, some key lawmakers and anti-tax/limited-government groups remain unconvinced saying there could be cost overruns not covered by what they see as overly rosy toll revenue and traffic projects. This proposal would require the approval of a majority of voters at a statewide election and in each municipality where new international bridges or tunnels for motor vehicles are to be located before the State of Michigan may expend state funds or resources for acquiring land, designing, soliciting bids for, constructing, financing, or promoting new international bridges or tunnels. To combat the lopsided nature of ad spending Lt. Gov. Brian Calley and Canadian Consul General Roy Norton have been holding town halls and briefing business groups about the benefits of a new bridge and disadvantages of Proposal 6. So for $950 million, Michigan and Canada have agreed to build a new bridge to be paid for entirely by Canada, which will recoup the expense from tolls. Canada will hire a private entity design, build, operate and maintain the bridge through a 40- to 50-year partnership. Canada also will cover the cost of buying land in Michigan to make way for the bridge. If necessary, the state Department of Transport will seize property from owners who do not want to sell. "This is an international, regional, global issue for our marketplace." -Matt Smego, legislative counsel for the Michigan Farm Bureau.

Lt. Gov. Brian Calley said, Having just one aging bridge bridge for commercial trucks carrying goods to and from Canada. "Many cannot fit on the Detroit-Windsor tunnel, it is foolhardy particularly given congestion problems around the bridge. So is the idea of putting a twin span alongside the Ambassador," he says. Complication of the Gateway Project better links the the Ambassador Bridge to nearby interstates in Detroit, but there is no direct connection to Canada's 401 Highway in Windsor, meaning trucks must travel Windsor city streets. Canada will pay for an interchange to connect the bridge to Interstate 75 in Detroit. The $550 million fronted by Canada for the state's share will be eligible for $2 million in federal matching funds for high way construction. "The governor says it's not going to cost Michigan anything. That's an aspirational statement that's never been true in the past," said Mickey Blashfeild, director of The People Should Decide ballot committee and director of government relations for the Detroit International Bridge Co., which owns the Ambassador. "We think people ought to have a say." He notes that the state has spent more than $41 million studying and planning for the bridge and says than tax revenue will be lost if much of Detroit's Delray neighborhood is bulldozed to make room for what is currently being called the New International Trade Crossing. A financial adviser hired by the Morouns estimates lost taxes from the Ambassador due to lower traffic because of the new bridge and combined with the lower profits at the government-owned Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron (which also allows commercial trucks) and the Detroit-Windsor tunnel-will total $747.1 million from 2016-2035. State Rep. Paul Opsommer, a DeWitt Republican and chairman of the House Transportation Committee, also urging a "yes" vote on Proposal 6-not, he says, because he opposes a publicly owned bridge but because too many of his concerns remain unanswered. Among them: The bridge agreement does not mention Michigan open meeting and freedom of information laws; It does not require an investment-grade study to back up the plan for tolls to cover construction costs; and It violates state budget laws written specifically to prevent a bridge by prohibiting state agencies and bodies from working on the project unless legislators pass enabling legislation. "I think a (yes vote) would force these questions to be answered," Opsommer said. He points out that if the measures are approved, voters ultimately

could still OK the bridge. Many others, however, on both sides of the political spectrum have concluded that the bridge needs to be built without delay and there has been plenty of time for debate and discussion in recent years. The tug-of-war between wealthy Ambassador Bridge owner Manuel "Matty" Moroun and supporters of millionaire Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has been relentless over the past couple of years. The latest survey indicates that the battle won't end soon. Forty-seven percent say a majority of voters in a statewide election would have to give the green to state funds being spent on a new bridge or tunnel. And the proposal goes one step further. Each city where the new span would exist would have a sign off as well. Forty-four percent of the people, who participated in the poll commissioned by WXYZ, the Detroit Free Press, and our statewide media partners, don't feel the issue has been decided by a majority vote of Michiganders.