The Gordie Howe International Bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, is set to open on July 27, marking the end of a weekslong delay. Projections indicate each hour, 400 commercial vehicles could cross the new span, which is expected to add a second route between the two cities. Originally scheduled to debut on June 12, the bridge will open about six weeks later after officials finalized arrangements for toll governance and economic development funding.
To finalize the agreement, U.S. and Canadian officials spent recent weeks working on a series of measures regarding toll governance and the establishment of a 15-year economic development effort funded by a portion of bridge operations. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said the bridge “will give people on both sides of the border better-paying jobs and brighter futures.” She also noted the span will “speed up auto production, lower costs, ease traffic [and] strengthen agriculture.”
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U.S. officials were concerned about how and when toll revenues should be shared between the nations. Initially, the U.S. was expected to receive a portion of the bridge’s operating revenue but only after Canada had recouped its investment to construct the multi-billion-dollar, 1.5-mile-long bridge, which was expected to take decades. Both sides last week agreed to “a series of cooperative measures focused on toll governance and transparency” and to direct bridge revenues toward regional investments. The Windsor Bridge Authority will also work with U.S. officials “on toll-rate adjustments, seeking concurrence for certain non-market related toll charges.”
Officials projected the new crossing would speed up truck border crossing times, saving about 850,000 hours annually and leading to billions of dollars in economic savings over the crossing’s service lifetime. A 2021 report from the Cross-Border Institute noted that cross-border automotive supply chains require fast and reliable crossing times. “A vehicle assembly plant may be served by 1000 trucks per day, all of which must be synchronized to deliver parts within short time windows. This requires that deliveries must be not just fast but also reliable,” the institute said.
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Reliability in a busy corridor
For decades, commercial traffic between Detroit and Windsor utilized the nearby Ambassador Bridge, which handles about 40,000 crossings and the cross-border transport of $323 million worth of goods daily. The privately-held bridge is owned by the Moroun family, which also owns Warren, Michigan-based less-than-truckload carrier Central Transport and holds board seats with Universal Logistics Holdings and PAMT. The additional truck crossing won’t mean the end of the Ambassador Bridge, according to the institute. Its report noted a second crossing between Detroit and Windsor provides needed redundancy, adding “the presence of two bridges at the crossing essentially rules out the possibility of a complete shutdown of the Detroit River crossing.”
The Canadian Trucking Alliance said the Gordie Howe bridge provides additional capacity, modern border infrastructure, and long-term resilience for the busiest commercial trade corridor between Canada and the U.S. “For commercial trucking operations, the opening represents an immediate improvement in efficiency and reliability,” the alliance said. “Modern customs facilities, expanded inspection capacity, and direct freeway-to-freeway connections will help reduce congestion, improve border processing, strengthen supply chain security, and divert heavy commercial traffic away from residential neighbourhoods in Windsor.”
