Gordie Howe bridge opens to traffic after months of delays

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The Gordie Howe International Bridge opened to motorists Monday after months of controversy over financial aspects of the project.

Officials announced in a post on social media just after noon that the Howe family had crossed first, in honour of the bridge’s Canadian-American hockey namesake.

Minutes later, another post marked the crossing of the first commercial truck, a vehicle from a trucking company in Tecumseh, Ont., that was carrying auto parts to Michigan.

As the sunny afternoon went on, cars and transport trucks brought a stream of inaugural crossings.

Cyclists stopped on nearby Broadway Street in Windsor, Ont., to watch some of the first vehicles make the trip. Traffic trickled in and out of Canada after passing through toll booths.

Meanwhile, a Detroit resident took in the opening from a lawn chair parked beneath the bridge, with two fishing rods capped with small U.S. flags fastened to a railing, their lines dangling in the river.

U.S. President Donald Trump insisted in a social media post in February that the United States would have to be compensated before he would allow the bridge to open.

He falsely claimed the $6.4-billion structure connecting Windsor and Detroit was built with virtually no American content.

Canada subsequently agreed to make some adjustments concerning the sharing of revenues. Prime Minister Mark Carney later said he could have been more clear about the terms of the deal, as Conservative critics accused him of bending to Trump’s administration.

Canada held a ceremony last week to help mark the opening of the bridge, but a joint celebration with the United States was cancelled over Washington’s recent threat of new tariffs on Canadian goods.

American officials said the new levies are a response to provincial bans on U.S. alcohol, Canada’s supply-managed dairy system and quotas on American cars.

Pete Hoekstra, the U.S. ambassador to Canada, welcomed the milestone Monday, saying the bridge will add “new capacity to one of the busiest and most economically significant border crossings between the United States and Canada.”

The bridge over the Detroit River, named for the Canadian hockey icon known to some as “Mr. Hockey,” is expected to serve as a critical route for trade, jobs and tourism between Canada and the U.S.

More than 70 per cent of Canada’s exports go to the U.S. For nearly a century, the privately owned Ambassador Bridge has been the only route for large commercial trucks moving between the U.S. and Canada at Detroit.

Businesses say the new six-lane span will be faster and less expensive.

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Construction on the bridge began in 2018 but took years, partly due to a global slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Goldy Hyder, president of the Business Council of Canada, said the project is a powerful example of collaboration between governments and communities.

The business council has anticipated that the bridge would strengthen competitiveness on both sides of the border, supporting jobs and investments, since it was first announced in 2012, Hyder said in a statement.

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Trucking firms say the opening of the Gordie Howe bridge promises more efficient transport – though not necessarily lower prices for consumers.

Canadian Trucking Alliance CEO Stephen Laskowski says the new span between Detroit and Windsor, Ont., will make for better traffic flow, smother security procedures and competitive toll rates that could save large trucking companies up to $100,000 a month.

The six-lane bridge offers a direct connection between Ontario’s Highway 401 and Interstate 75 across the Detroit river, while the four-lane Ambassador Bridge upstream requires an off-ramp and up to 14 traffic lights on the Canadian side.

Mike Millian, president of the Private Motor Truck Council of Canada, says the new crossing also features quicker, more up-to-date X-ray imaging facilities and tolls that sit well below recent rates at the privately owned Ambassador Bridge.

However, he says that high diesel fuel prices following a tough couple of years for the industry mean the cost savings may not trickle down to consumers any time soon.

With files from The Associated Press