Michigan Bridge Critics Spend Nearly $5M On TV Ads
LANSING (WWJ/AP) - A new report says the owners of the Ambassador Bridge have spent $4.7 million this year on TV ads opposing a proposed new crossing that would be built between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario.
According to a new report out Monday from the nonprofit Michigan Campaign Finance Network, the estimate was made using public files of the state's TV broadcasters and cable systems.
The company affiliated with the Ambassador Bridge is the Detroit International Bridge Co. Its owners don't want the competing bridge to be built.
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and many businesses support building a new Detroit-Windsor bridge to aid passenger and commercial traffic. It would be backed by private investors and Michigan would rely on $550 million from Canada for related improvements.
Meantime, a Michigan Senate committee is holding a series of hearings on legislation that could make the new bridge a reality. Over the next two months, each side in the debate over the project will get an hour at the hearings before the Senate Economic Development Committee. Each hearing will each cover a different issue surrounding the bridge. (More on this, here).
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
