Michigan voters who cast ballots on a proposition that could have nixed the plan to build a new bridge linking Windsor to Detroit made it clear: they won’t be bought.

Matty Moroun, owner of the Ambassador Bridge between Windsor and Detroit, lost his fight Tuesday when voters said no to Proposition 6, which would have required a referendum vote every time a new international bridge is proposed.

In the months leading up to the vote Tuesday, Moroun funnelled nearly $40 million into a campaign against a second bridge, including millions to get the vote on the Michigan ballot.

The billionaire bridge-owner rakes in nearly $80 million annually from the crossing and had the proposition passed, the new crossing would have been subject to a state-wide vote.

“We’re excited about it. It’s been dragging on for the last 12 years,” said Mark Dugal, business manager of the Ironworkers Local 700 in Windsor. “It’s nice to know you can’t buy the citizens of Michigan. It’s fantastic.”

Dugal said the bridge construction will create more than 100 jobs for members of the union. The bridge project is expected to create 10,000 to 15,000 construction jobs on both sides of the border and will be built through a public-private partnership,

The Canadian government has agreed to cover Michigan’s $550-million bill and use tolls on the Canadian side of the bridge to make money back on the billion-dollar project.

At a June announcement, Prime Minister Stephen Harper argued that the faster border crossing will boost investment to create jobs along the Windsor-Quebec City corridor, as well as in Michigan.

In other state-level votes, Colorado and Washington legalized recreational marijuana use with regulations to be put in place. Oregon, the other state voting on recreational marijuana, was leaning against legalizing it at press time. Massachusetts and Arkansas had medical marijuana measures on the ballot.

The State of Maine legalized same-sex marriage.