| Update:
A truck is parked during the Canadian Festival of Lights on the Gordie Howe International Bridge in Windsor, Ontario on July 24. (Paul Sansya/AP)
key takeaways:
- The Gordie Howe International Bridge, connecting Detroit and Windsor, reopened to traffic on July 27 after Canada completed the billion-dollar cross-border project.
- The bridge adds a second Detroit truck crossing, where the Ambassador Bridge long handled commercial traffic and remains Detroit’s busiest US-Canada truck port.
- Canada financed the estimated $6.4 billion bridge and will share toll revenues with the U.S., while Michigan receives the revenues after costs are recovered.
DETROIT – A major new bridge linking Canada and the United States in Detroit opened to trucks, cars and other vehicles on July 27, the culmination of a years-long project that until recently was slightly marred by international politics.
The descendants of hockey legend Gordie Howe, whose name is on the bridge, were among the first to cross the Detroit River, which separates the Motor City from Windsor, Ontario.
The span, which Canada built at a cost of $6.4 billion, has become a less expensive alternative to the privately owned Ambassador Bridge, which had a monopoly on large trucks carrying billions worth of goods between the two countries, primarily in service of the auto industry.
“There are thousands of trucks coming and going every day,” said Kevin Ketels, a business professor who teaches supply chain management at Wayne State University.
Freddie Garrett, 81, said he has been watching construction regularly “since the groundbreaking” in 2018. So naturally he came to Detroit’s Delray Park to see the first vehicles go up.
“It was amazing to see how they did it,” Garrett said. “They put one section at a time and then they got together in the middle. I’m sure it’ll be there longer than I’ve been there.”
🎊The first commercial truck has crossed #gordiehowebridge From Canada to America! 🎊
OnFreight Logistics is a Canadian logistics and trucking company based in Tecumseh, Ontario. He completed the trip by picking up auto parts on his way to Michigan. #gohove 🇨🇦 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/mTAKuhQGEM
– Gordie Howe International Bridge (@GordieHoweBrg) 27 July 2026
Last week, Canada celebrated the Gordie Howe International Bridge with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Windsor. Representatives from the US and Michigan were not invited after President Donald Trump suddenly announced a 50% tariff on Canadian goods entering the US.
More than 70% of Canada’s exports go to the US, making the US its largest trading partner, and according to the US Department of Transportation, Detroit is the No. 1 port for truck traffic on the US-Canada border.
This extension is 1.5 miles long and is 151 feet above the river at its highest point. From August 5, pedestrians and cyclists will be able to cross it for free.
🚘🚚 We welcome cars and trucks with open arms #gohove! Check flyers on opening day. 📣
Private vehicles will have to pay $8 CAD/$5.75 USD or $6 CAD/4.35 USD #break away
Large/Commercial vehicles pay a per axle rate of $12 CAD/$8.75 USD or $9.60 CAD/$6.90 USD with breakaway pic.twitter.com/eq8jez0WzV
– Gordie Howe International Bridge (@GordieHoweBrg) 27 July 2026
Howe is a Canadian icon known as “Mr. Hockey”, who wore number 9 while playing for the Detroit Red Wings of the NHL. He died in 2016.
A recent agreement between Canada and the Trump administration states that Canada will share some toll revenues with the US government for 15 years. Michigan separately negotiated a share in 2012, but it will not be paid until Canada’s costs are recovered, possibly decades from now.
Written by Mike Householder and Ed White
