What to know
- Canada’s newest cross-border crossing, Gordie Howe International Bridge, is finally opening on July 27.
- The bridge will connect Windsor and Detroit via Highway 401 and Interstate 75.
- It was originally slated to open in early June, but the Canadian government was forced to renegotiate toll profit sharing with the United States.
After weeks of delays, the Gordie Howe International bridge will finally be opening on July 27.
The bridge connects the city of Windsor in Ontario with the city of Detroit in Michigan and is the first to connect Highway 401 with Interstate 75.
Unlike the neighbouring privately owned Ambassador Bridge, which is currently responsible for much of the commercial traffic between the two cities, the Gordie Howe International Bridge is publicly owned by the Government of Canada and the State of Michigan.
The bridge has six lanes and measures 853 metres in length — the longest cable-stayed bridge in North America.
“After years of planning, partnership and construction, the Gordie Howe International Bridge will soon be opening — providing a new connection for the region, while strengthening one of the world’s most important trade corridors,” Minister of Housing and Infrastructure Gregor Robertson said in a press release Friday.
Although the bridge has already been completed for months and was originally set to open in early June, Prime Minister Mark Carney delayed the ribbon cutting ceremony and insisted there was “no big drama.”
“If it takes a little longer, it’ll take a little longer. This will benefit Canadians, Americans, businesses, tourists and residents for decades and decades to come,” he said to reporters on Parliament hill last month.
Change in profit model
In February, United States President Donald Trump threatened to block the bridge’s opening if the U.S. wasn’t “fully compensated for everything we have given them.”
“I will not allow this bridge to open until the United States is fully compensated for everything we have given them, and also, importantly, Canada treats the United States with the Fairness and Respect that we deserve. We will start negotiations, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
It seems Carney conceded to Trump’s demands, as Canada will only receive 50 per cent of the toll profits. The other 50 per cent — after deducting operational costs — will go into an United States owned economic development fund for 15-years. But the U.S. must agree to toll raises over 10 per cent.
Previously, the Canadian government was to receive 100 per cent of net toll profits and use it to pay off the $6.4 billion it cost to build the bridge.
