WINDSOR, Ontario (WXYZ) — The Gordie Howe International Bridge is now open, creating a major new gateway between Detroit and Windsor after more than 20 years of planning, politics, and construction.
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The first cars and trucks rolled across the six-lane span Monday morning — including a Dodge Charger driven by Gordie Howe, the grandson of the hockey legend whose name now stretches across the Detroit River.
"It was incredible," Howe said. "It just makes me think about all the people who have worked on this bridge and all the people we talked to today — just how happy everyone must be that this bridge came to fruition. It's just an honor to be the first to cross."
The bridge features three lanes into the U.S. and three into Canada, with officials able to shift traffic flow as needed.
The project traces its origins to a 2004 cross-border study that concluded a new or expanded connection between Detroit and Windsor was needed. In 2012, former Michigan Governor Rick Snyder and then-Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper reached an agreement for Canada to fund construction of the new span. Construction got underway in 2018, with most of the work wrapped up late last year.
"It's such a sense of relief and excitement and really such a sense of pride. I think those are feelings that everyone who has worked on this project is experiencing," Heather Grondin of the Windsor Detroit Bridge Authority said.
The road to opening was not without obstacles. The Moroun family — owners of the Ambassador Bridge — spent years fighting the project in court. Earlier this year, President Trump threatened to block the bridge's opening without trade concessions from Canada following a reported million-dollar donation to his Make America Great Committee from the Moroun family. Just weeks ago, Canadian officials canceled a joint ribbon cutting after new tariff threats from the White House.
7 News Detroit rode shotgun with Jim Pereira of On-Freight Logistics — the first truck driver to cross the new bridge — alongside Erik Behrens, the architect who designed the span. Monday marked Behrens' first official crossing.
For Pereira, the new bridge means smoother commerce and fewer delays.
"You're just-in-time delivery for trucking. You want to get your loads there as soon as possible. You don't want anyone stressing out over whether it's going to be late or delayed, getting in contact with customers saying we're delayed at the bridge or the backup is too long. I think that's all going to be toned down now, and commerce and trade are going to be exponentially better," Pereira said.
Pereira said the crossing also sent a message about the relationship between the two countries.
"So I'll tell you right now, when I first crossed the officers on that side, they proved that Canada and the US, we're still together, we're still allies, no matter what's going on in the world right now," Pereira said.
Behrens said he hopes the bridge becomes more than just a crossing.
"It's mesmerizing. It's absolutely magic, to be honest. I hope other people feel the same because this bridge is a marvel of engineering, but it's also an architectural beauty," Behrens said.
"I hope that people love that bridge. People on their route to Detroit and Windsor should have a magic experience and a very personal experience, and I hope for the region it sets a new tone and obviously it connects everyone," Behrens said.
The spokesperson for the Ambassador Bridge did not respond to a request for comment.
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