Detroit-Windsor Gordie Howe bridge set to open after Trump threat

The new Gordie Howe International Bridge is poised to open between Detroit and Windsor just months after Donald Trump threatened to stop it, turning a long-planned crossing into a live test of how much North American commerce can be insulated from political threats. At $4.7 billion, the span is built to give the Detroit-Windsor corridor more redundancy, more freight capacity and a second modern route across one of the busiest industrial borders in the world.

The 1.6-mile bridge links I-75 in Detroit with Highway 401 in Ontario, a highway-to-highway connection designed to move auto parts, finished vehicles and commercial traffic with fewer bottlenecks. Officials say it has six traffic lanes, 16 toll lanes and 60 Canada and U.S. inspection lanes, the most traffic and inspection lanes in the Windsor-Detroit corridor. U.S. Customs and Border Protection already issued a final rule making it a Class A port of entry effective March 2, clearing the way for immigration and customs operations.

Construction began in 2018, after the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority was established in 2013 and the bridge was officially named in 2015 for hockey legend Gordie Howe, who died the next year at 88. Federal briefing documents said the structure had been essentially complete since February, with only commissioning and testing left before opening. Public traffic was expected to begin around June 15, with a formal ribbon-cutting planned later that week.

The bridge’s financing has also made it a political symbol. Mark Carney said Canada paid for more than $4 billion of construction and that ownership is shared between the Government of Canada and the State of Michigan. Doug Ford has said Michigan will own half once Canada recoups construction costs through tolls. Trump’s criticism in February, tied to disputes over tariffs, alcohol sales and trade talks with China, drew immediate pushback from Michigan and Windsor leaders who warned that blocking the span would raise costs and weaken supply chains.

Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens called the threat “insane,” while Sen. Elissa Slotkin warned of higher business costs, weaker supply chains and lost jobs. Gretchen Whitmer’s office said the bridge was built with union labor on both sides of the border and would strengthen Michigan’s auto and manufacturing base. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said CBP staff were ready to operate the crossing, but that final sign-off between the two countries was still needed. Even as the bridge nears opening, a separate legal challenge by the Canadian Transit Company over the nearby Ambassador Bridge could linger for years, underscoring how much of the border’s future still turns on who controls the crossings.