Gordie Howe Bridge opens to traffic between Detroit and Canada
The $6.4 billion Canadian bridge gives trucks a new Detroit-Windsor crossing as U.S.-Canada trade tensions hang over the project.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
The Gordie Howe Bridge opens a new route for trucks, cars and other vehicles between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, adding capacity at the busiest U.S.-Canada truck crossing. The Associated Press reported that the six-lane span opened Monday after years of construction and amid strain over President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods.
The bridge crosses the Detroit River and offers a lower-cost alternative to the privately owned Ambassador Bridge, according to the AP. That bridge had held a monopoly on major truck traffic carrying goods worth billions of dollars between the two countries, including freight tied to the auto industry.
Kevin Ketels, a Wayne State University business professor who teaches supply chain management, told the AP that thousands of trucks use the Detroit-Windsor route each day. The U.S. Department of Transportation says Detroit is the No. 1 port for truck traffic on the U.S.-Canada border, and more than 70% of Canada’s exports go to the United States, its largest trading partner.
What is the Gordie Howe International Bridge?
The Gordie Howe International Bridge is a 1.5-mile, six-lane bridge linking Detroit with Windsor over the Detroit River, according to the AP. Canada built the crossing at a cost of $6.4 billion Canadian, and pedestrians and bicyclists are scheduled to use it free starting Aug. 5.
The bridge reaches 151 feet above the river at its highest point, the AP reported. Canada’s infrastructure minister described its shape as resembling the curve of a hockey stick blade, while the cables running from the towers to the deck resemble large harps.
The first crossings were marked by local officials and members of Gordie Howe’s family. The AP reported that U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, a Michigan Democrat, rode across on a motorcycle, while Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer drove a Ford Mustang convertible.
Jim Pereira, a driver hauling auto parts for Ontario-based Onfreight Logistics, was recognized as the first trucker to arrive in Detroit, according to the AP. Pereira told the AP he expects the new crossing to shorten travel times as trucks approach the wider bridge, and he called it “a beautiful piece of architecture.”
Freddie Garrett, 81, told the AP he had watched the bridge being built from the foundation stage in 2018 and came to Delray Park in Detroit to see the first vehicles pass overhead. He said the sections were joined in the middle and added that he expects the bridge to outlast him.
The opening followed a Canadian ribbon-cutting in Windsor last week. The AP reported that U.S. and Michigan representatives were uninvited after Trump announced 50% tariffs on Canadian goods entering the United States.
Ketels told the AP that hostility between the two governments has been hard on the region. He said many people there view the dispute as unneeded and unnecessary.
The bridge is named for Gordie Howe, the Canadian hockey star known as “Mr. Hockey,” who wore No. 9 for the Detroit Red Wings. Howe died in 2016, according to the AP.
The AP also reported that a recent agreement between Canada and the Trump administration gives the U.S. government a share of some toll revenue for 15 years. Former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder negotiated a separate toll-share agreement for the state in 2012, but the AP reported Michigan will not receive that money until Canada recovers its costs, likely decades from now.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.