International Gordie Howe Bridge opening is off, and no one will say why
A multi-billion-dollar international bridge connecting Detroit to Windsor, Canada — and drawing angst from President Donald Trump — won’t open as scheduled. American and Canadian officials agreed to delay opening the Gordie Howe International Bridge, its governing body told Straight Arrow.
Travelers and workers will have to wait longer to cross the long-awaited bridge after the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority announced Thursday that it won’t open as scheduled. The authority told Straight Arrow that a Friday ribbon-cutting won’t proceed, either.
“Canada and the United States have agreed to delay the opening of the bridge, taking the necessary time to resolve any outstanding issues,” Chuck Andary, interim chief executive officer at the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, said in a statement.
Officials didn’t respond to further questions about the reason for the sudden halt in plans.
The bridge is named after the late NHL star Gordie Howe, who played for the Detroit Red Wings for 25 seasons. The Canadian led the team to three Stanley Cup titles in 1950, 1954 and 1955.
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The Gordie Howe International Bridge would be the third international crossing between Detroit and Canada.
No one would provide information on the outstanding issues or which government is responsible for completion. The White House, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office didn’t respond to Straight Arrow’s requests for comment.
According to Carney’s schedule, he will not be in Canada on Friday. Instead, he will be in Paris, France, for an undisclosed event. The CBC, a Canadian news site, reported Thursday that Carney insisted there wasn’t “big drama” behind the delay.
“If it takes a little longer, it’ll take a little longer,” he said. “This will benefit Canadians, Americans, businesses, tourists and residents for decades and decades to come.”
The White House told the CBC on Tuesday that the Trump administration wanted to secure a deal for Americans. It’s not clear what that deal could entail, as the U.S. didn’t pay for construction.
Whitmer told reporters in Dearborn that the bridge is complete and hoped it would open in the “next few days or weeks,” according to the Detroit Free Press. She later declined to state why the opening was delayed, but admitted she was both surprised and not surprised it was delayed.
“I’m hopeful we can get it back on track and open,” she said.
Trump opposition to the bridge
Trump fought in February to delay the bridge’s opening as he asserted in a Truth Social post that Canada built the bridge with “virtually no U.S. content,” that the U.S. should own “at least one half” of the structure and the U.S. should be “fully compensated” for construction.
However, the bridge was built with U.S. labor and steel. The state of Michigan holds a 50% ownership stake in the project, and Canada paid for the CAD$6.4 billion (USD$4.6 billion) project, according to a 100-year agreement Michigan signed with Canada. The country would be paid back via a 36-year toll recapture program, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Once repaid, Canada and Michigan would split the revenue.
Construction on the bridge started in 2018. Officials have praised the bridge for being a major artery for U.S.-Canada trade and giving travelers more choices to traverse between the two countries.
“The Gordie Howe International Bridge will be a vital economic link for Canada and the United States,” the WBDA said in a statement. “As we work towards an opening date, we are taking a collaborative approach, reflecting our shared ambition for this trade corridor.”
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
