Lt. Gov. Brian Calley says a ballot proposal to require the public to vote on a new international bridge in Detroit won’t stop the project. But he says it could put a halt to future infrastructure projects, including a badly needed upgrade to a rail tunnel in Detroit.
Calley says Governor Rick Snyder’s deal with the Canadian government to build a new international bridge in Detroit pre-dates the ballot question. But he says there are other international crossings in Michigan.
“As we look at Sault Sainte Marie, we look at Port Huron, and we look at the rail tunnel where cargo goes back and forth between our nations, there will likely be a need for expanded transportation options all along our border, and all this does is limit that," he said.
The amendment would require a statewide vote to use public resources on an international bridge or tunnel.
The ballot campaign is financed largely by the Ambassador Bridge company, which is trying to stop a competing span. A spokesman says it would not affect the privately owned Detroit rail tunnel, unless tax dollars were used for the upgrade.
