 Gaines , Cascade , and Caledonia townships and the city of Kentwood circulated a survey amongst their communities ' planning commissions and elected boards in 1982 . The survey showed an inconclusive preference for a limited @-@ access highway in what was termed a " gut level reaction " to the proposed roadway . The South Belt Citizens Committee actively started to oppose the roadway during the fall of 1982 , pressing local candidates for political office to take positions on the project . The group called the roadway a " <unk> " in its mailings to the candidates . Future Lieutenant Governor Dick <unk> , then a member of the Michigan State Senate , called for an end to the studies in 1983 ; he would later reverse and become one of the project 's biggest supporters . 
