The Gordie Howe Bridge is shown under construction between Windsor, Ont., and Detroit in May. The crossing is expected to open after the U.S. and Canada reached a deal.Paul Sancya/The Associated Press
The Gordie Howe bridge – a second span between Windsor and Detroit – is set to open July 27 after Canada and the United States reached a deal on revenue from tolls, the federal government said on Friday.
The crossing was originally supposed to open in early June, but was postponed at the behest of the Trump administration, as The Globe and Mail reported last month.
According to a government news release, Canada has agreed to share some proceeds from the tolls with the U.S., even though Canada paid for the bridge construction in its entirety.
Housing, Infrastructure and Communities said Canada and the U.S. have agreed “to a series of cooperative measures focused on toll governance and transparency, as well as investments in the region, including through the establishment of a 15-year economic development fund tied to a portion of profits from bridge operations.”
It said this is to ensure that “benefits are felt on both sides of the border.”
In 2012, the Canadian government agreed to pay the full $6.4-billion price tag for the bridge after the Michigan legislature refused to chip in. The Moroun family that owns the existing Ambassador Bridge between Windsor and Detroit had been lobbying against the Gordie Howe bridge.
Ottawa’s plan since then was to be repaid with toll revenue from the bridge, which is jointly owned by Canada and Michigan.
Infrastructure Minister Gregor Robertson said in a statement on Friday that the span is a “nation-building project” and “a testament to what Canada can accomplish when we come together with a shared vision.” The Gordie Howe International Bridge “will create new opportunities, strengthen our economy, and bring economic benefits on both sides of the border for generations to come,” Mr. Robertson said.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, a supporter of the bridge, joined Mr. Robertson in the same statement, calling the crossing “a testament to the enduring partnership between Michigan and Canada and what we can get done when we think big and bet on our shared future together.”
Mr. Robertson’s department said the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority that operates the span will “work collaboratively with the Government of the United States on toll-rate adjustments.”
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Michigan Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers said in a radio interview that there is a “financial deal” where the U.S. will see “up to half the revenue” from bridge-crossing fees. He also said there would be joint determination of what the tolls would be.
Mr. Rogers said Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had assured him “that America will get a better financial deal and that there will be no Chinese cars pouring over that bridge.”
The timing of the Gordie Howe bridge’s debut was thrown into doubt in February, when Mr. Trump threatened in a social-media post to prevent it from opening and said Canada should give the U.S. government “at least one half” of the asset.
Mr. Trump’s threat came shortly after Matthew Moroun, chairman of the company that owns the Ambassador Bridge, donated US$1-million to a pro-Trump campaign group and reportedly met with Mr. Lutnick.
The bridge is named after Canadian hockey legend Gordie Howe, who played for the Detroit Red Wings for 25 seasons.
The bridge’s opening would be a rare example of progress in Canada-U.S. relations these days. Canadian steel, aluminum, autos and lumber remain under protectionist U.S. levies, and negotiations over the renewal of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which governs continental trade, are progressing slowly.
The project began under former prime minister Stephen Harper as a means to ease congestion and provide another crossing option along the most important trade artery between Canada and the U.S.
The bridge is meant to speed traffic over the busy international crossing and trade route, providing direct access between highways and offering more extensive cargo-screening facilities. It would avoid the current route through Windsor streets on the approach to the Ambassador, which opened in 1929.
There will now be three bridge crossings operating between Southwestern Ontario and the U.S.: the privately owned Ambassador Bridge and the new Gordie Howe, both connecting Windsor to Detroit, and the Blue Water Bridge linking Sarnia to Port Huron, Mich.
The Moroun family has long opposed the construction of the Gordie Howe bridge. As the Detroit Free Press wrote in 2018, the Ambassador Bridge owners have told Mr. Trump and others in Washington and Michigan that “a Canadian-built, Canadian-financed rival bridge makes no economic sense, violates the law and will unfairly hurt its business.”
With reports from The Canadian Press and Adrian Morrow