Detroit-Windsor Bridge Issue on Michigan’s November Ballot

Michigan’s Board of State Canvassers has certified a November ballot measure that, if approved, would require a statewide affirmative vote before a new bridge can be built between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario.

The existing span, the 83-year-old Ambassador Bridge, is owned by Manuel Moroun and his family, who initiated and funded the effort to put the bridge issue on the ballot.

Michigan governors before him failed to win state legislative approval for a new bridge but in June, Gov. Rick Snyder (R) bypassed lawmakers and signed an agreement with Canada.

If the measure is approved, a “majority of voters at a statewide election and in each municipality” would have to approve any “bridges or tunnels for motor vehicles” before the state could expend funds or resources on land, design, bidding, constructing, financing or promoting new international bridges or tunnels.