With so much traffic heading back and forth, a new crossing was needed to alleviate congestion. The Gordie Howe International Bridge connects Ontario’s Highway 401 with Michigan’s I-75, avoiding much of the downtown traffic in Windsor and Detroit. Its impressive 853-metre main span — the longest of any cable-stayed bridge in North America — includes a toll-free pedestrian pathway connecting to the Trans-Canada Trail. It’s expected to attract 45 per cent of all regional commercial traffic and 28 per cent of passenger vehicles currently using the Ambassador Bridge. But the bridge remained closed long beyond its original expected opening date in the fall of 2025.

Named for Canadian hockey legend Gordie Howe, who played 25 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings, the bridge was proposed in 2005 and approved in 2013. Construction began in 2018, with Canada footing the entire $6.4-billion bill. Tolls will pay back Canada’s investment, and Michigan will get a cut once the initial cost has been repaid. But the bridge has been mired in controversy from the start. The Moroun family, which owns the Ambassador Bridge, has sought for years to cancel the project, filing 22 lawsuits to slow or halt construction. Then, this past February, U.S. President Donald Trump blocked the opening of the bridge, claiming the U.S. should receive a cut of the toll revenue immediately. Despite the impasse, work continued. Prime Minister Mark Carney appeared to confirm plans for a grand opening this past June, only for it to be cancelled soon after.

“The administration remains committed to securing the best possible deal for the American people,” the White House said by way of explanation. Trump has continued to make false claims about the bridge’s ownership and the use of U.S. steel and workers in its construction. Instead of enhancing trade between Canada and the U.S., the bridge has become a symbol of the faltering friendship between the two countries. Fen Osler Hampson, professor of international affairs at Carleton University, sees Trump’s actions as a weaponization of infrastructure: “Using borders as choke points, that’s something you see between rivals in wartime.”

The Gordie Howe International Bridge officially opened July 27; Howe’s family were the first to drive a passenger car across it. However, one Canadian had already illegally walked across it and received a lifetime ban from the United States.