Gordie Howe bridge set to open July 27 after weekslong delay

Dive Brief:

• U.S. and Canadian officials reached an agreement to open the Gordie Howe International Bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, on July 27, according to a Friday press release.
• The opening will be about six weeks past the originally planned June 12 debut for the new crossing. To open the span, the U.S. and Canada spent the past several weeks working on a new series of measures regarding toll governance and the establishment of a 15-year economic development effort funded by a portion of profits from bridge operations, per the release.
• Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in the announcement the bridge “will give people on both sides of the border better-paying jobs and brighter futures.” She also said the span will “speed up auto production, lower costs, ease traffic [and] strengthen agriculture.”

Dive Insight:

U.S. officials were concerned 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.

However, 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, but no additional details were provided, per the release. The Windsor Bridge Authority will also work with U.S. officials “on toll-rate adjustments, seeking concurrence for certain non-market related toll charges.”

The Gordie Howe bridge will add a second span between Detroit and Windsor and is expected to handle 400 commercial crossings per hour. The Cross-Border Institute in a 2021 report projected the new bridge would speed up truck border crossing timessaving about 850,000 hours annually, leading to billions of dollars in economic savings over the crossing’s service lifetime.

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 LTL 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 in a statement. “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.”