Photo: Alamy
The United States and Canada have reached an agreement allowing the Gordie Howe International Bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, to open later this month, ending a dispute that delayed the project’s debut.
The 1.5-mile bridge is scheduled to open July 27 and will become the fourth crossing between Detroit and Canada.
The bridge had originally been slated to open last month, but the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority announced June 11 that the two countries agreed to postpone the opening while they worked to “resolve any outstanding issues.”
President Donald Trump, who earlier this year said the United States should have an ownership stake in the bridge, announced Saturday that a new agreement had been reached.
“I was able to cut a MUCH BETTER DEAL for America,” he wrote on Truth Social.
President Trump said the original agreement for the “new and spectacular” bridge was “unacceptable to me.”
“The new deal is great, and fair. Thank you and congratulations to the Canadian Government. May we both have many years of success with this wonderful new development!!!” he added.
The Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority said Friday that the two countries had agreed to a “series of cooperative measures” governing how tolls will be managed.
According to The Wall Street Journal, citing a Canadian official, the agreement provides that half of the bridge’s net profits will be directed to a regional development fund.
Under the original arrangement, Canada would have received all toll revenue until it recovered the approximately 6.4 billion Canadian dollars it spent to construct the bridge. Canada agreed to fully finance the project when construction began in 2018.
The Journal also reported that the bridge authority will need U.S. approval before increasing tolls by 10 percent or more or reducing tolls below rates charged at comparable crossings, including the Ambassador Bridge.
The bridge is named after legendary Canadian hockey player Gordie Howe, who won four Stanley Cup championships with the Detroit Red Wings.
