After eight years of work and several months of tense political discussions, the Gordie Howe Bridge connecting Michigan to Canada has a new opening date: July 27.
On July 10, the Canadian government announced the new opening date, agreed upon by it and the U.S., for the six-lane, cable-stayed bridge. The government says the bridge will serve as a new hub of economic growth and trade for both countries.
Canada also stated that, to “ensure that benefits are felt on both sides of the border,” the two countries agreed on several new cooperative measures regarding toll governance and transparency. This includes establishing a 15-year economic development fund tied to a portion of the revenue from the bridge’s operations.
The U.S. government will also now have a say in toll-rate adjustments, per a new collaborative work plan with the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, the entity created to manage the Gordie Howe Bridge.
The Canadian government also noted that the bridge features modern ports of entry with “advanced screening and border management technologies,” billing it as one of the most advanced land crossings on the continent.
A Tough Situation Diffused
The opening announcement follows several months of political head-butting between Canada and the U.S., after President Donald Trump threatened to block the bridge’s opening in February over what he called unfair treatment of the U.S. by Canada.
Powered by“As everyone knows, the Country of Canada has treated the United States very unfairly for decades,” said Trump on his social media platform TruthSocial in February. “Now, things are turning around for the U.S.A., and FAST! But imagine, Canada is building a massive bridge between Ontario and Michigan. They own both the Canada and the United States side and, of course, built it with virtually no U.S. content.”
But that's not the case, as Canada funded the entire project, which will be jointly owned by the two countries. According to the Canada-Michigan Crossing Agreement, signed in 2012 by the U.S. and Canada, tolls for both directions of traffic will be collected on the Canada side to reimburse the Canadian government, which funded the entire project without aid from the U.S. Once the Canadian government has been fully reimbursed, toll revenue will be shared between the two countries, per the agreement.
An agreement signed between the Canadian government and the contractor building the bridge stated the project cannot favor one country's materials over the other and that 99.9% of all iron and steel materials must be produced in Canada or from a combination of American and Canadian sources, according to Vancouver CityNews.
Once open, the Gordie Howe International Bridge will be the first new connection between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, Michigan, in more than 60 years. It measures 1.56 miles long, is the longest cable-stayed bridge in North America and the 10th longest in the world. The bridge towers, completed in 2024, stand 722 feet tall.
Originally estimated to cost $2.1 billion and be completed in 2020, the Federal Highway Administration puts the total cost of the bridge’s contracts at roughly $5.2 billion. Ground was broken on the Gordie Howe Bridge in October 2018, and in October 2025, Canadian officials said the bridge would open in early 2026.
The project’s contract went to Bridging North America, a consortium made up of ACS Infrastructure Canada, Dragados Canada, Fluor Canada, AECOM and Aecon Group.
