Gordie Howe International Bridge

The Gordie Howe International Bridge is a cable-stayed Detroit River crossing connecting the Delray neighborhood of Detroit, Michigan, to Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It is a cable-stayed international bridge crossing the Detroit River between Windsor, Ontario, Canada, and Detroit, Michigan, U.S. The project is described by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) as the largest and most ambitious bi-national border infrastructure project along the Canada–United States border. Upon completion, the bridge will be approximately 1.5 miles (2.5 km) long, making it the 10th longest cable-stayed bridge in the world and the longest in North America. Named in honor of legendary hockey player Gordie Howe, whose career tied together both Detroit and Canada, the bridge is expected to transform the flow of commerce and people through one of the most economically critical border crossings on the continent.

Background and Origins

The Gordie Howe International Bridge was proposed to provide additional capacity for trade between Detroit, Michigan, U.S., and Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Prior to the bridge's construction, the considerable volume of trade in the corridor could pass only through the existing Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit–Windsor Tunnel.

In response to industry and border stakeholder concerns that the existing Ontario–Michigan crossings would not support the anticipated increase in traffic, a study to collect origin–destination patterns of cross-border trips was carried out by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, Transport Canada, the Michigan Department of Transportation, and the U.S. Federal Highway Administration, who formed the binational Border Transportation Partnership. The study was published in 2001 and included over 22,000 traveller surveys at four separate border crossings.

A formal study of the viability and environmental impact of a new Detroit River crossing began in 2005 through a joint U.S.–Canadian effort known as the Detroit River International Crossing study. In 2008, a new border transportation system for the Windsor–Detroit gateway was identified through the bi-national Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC) study. Its five components included an Ontario access road — now known as the Rt. Hon. Herb Gray Parkway, a Canadian Port of Entry, a river crossing — now known as the Gordie Howe International Bridge, a U.S. Port of Entry, and the Michigan Interchange to Interstate-75 (I-75).

The project went through several working names before arriving at its current one. It was formerly known as the New International Trade Crossing (NITC) and the Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC). The working name for the project became the New International Trade Crossing (NITC), garnering the endorsement of 139 organizations and individuals, and it was under the NITC name that the project was approved by the U.S. State Department on April 12, 2013.

The owners of the Ambassador Bridge opposed construction of the new bridge, worrying that a publicly-owned competing bridge would harm their business. They supported a 2012 Michigan ballot measure to halt the construction of the new bridge, but voters rejected it. Subsequent lawsuits to stay the construction also failed, and the public project continued, though owners of the Ambassador Bridge would try to claim damages for losses suffered through the construction.

Naming

In late 2010, David Bradley, president of the Ontario Trucking Association, proposed naming the bridge in honour of Canadian professional ice hockey player Gordie Howe, who played the bulk of his career for the Detroit Red Wings. The naming was supported by a number of Canadian politicians, along with Howe's son Marty — who felt the name would have been symbolic of him having come from Canada to spend the bulk of his NHL career in Detroit.

On May 14, 2015, during an event attended by then-Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, it was officially announced that the bridge would be known as the Gordie Howe International Bridge. Howe, 87 and in ailing health, did not attend the ceremony. Later, when asked by his son what he thought about the naming, Howe remarked "That sounds pretty good to me." Howe died one year later on June 10, 2016, two years before construction began.

The choice of name carried symbolic weight on both sides of the border. The bridge was named in recognition of the legendary hockey player, a proud Canadian who led the Detroit Red Wings to four Stanley Cup victories. Howe's connection to Detroit — despite being born in Floral, Saskatchewan — made his name a powerful emblem of the binational bond the bridge is intended to strengthen.

Design and Engineering

The Gordie Howe International Bridge will host six lanes of vehicular traffic, a pedestrian and cyclist pathway, and large ports of entry for customs and border inspection operations at both ends. The bridge will have a clear span of 850 metres (2,788 feet) across the Detroit River with no piers in the water. Two approach bridges — one on each side — will connect the main span to the Canadian Port of Entry and the U.S. Port of Entry.

There are four components to the Gordie Howe International Bridge, with a clear span of 853 metres (0.53 miles) — the longest main span of any cable-stayed bridge in North America.

The Gordie Howe International Bridge project included a bridge and border crossing spanning the Detroit River and connecting Detroit, Michigan, U.S., and Windsor, Ontario, Canada, by linking Interstate 75 and Interstate 96 in Michigan with the new extension of Highway 401 (the Rt. Hon. Herb Gray Parkway) in Ontario. The scope also included building new, state-of-the-art ports of entry on both the U.S. and Canadian sides of the Detroit River as well as improvements to existing infrastructure in both Michigan and Ontario.

On the U.S. side, significant infrastructure work was necessary to accommodate the bridge's approach. A connecting road was constructed from the bridge to a semi-directional T interchange with access ramps to both directions of Interstate 75. Along with this new interchange, 1.9 miles (3 km) of Interstate 75 was rebuilt and widened, local roads were improved, and new pedestrian bridges added. Noise walls were also built to mitigate impacts to the Southwest Detroit neighbourhood.

On January 9, 2020, after extensive community consultation, a design was selected for five pedestrian bridges being constructed as part of the Michigan Interchange (I-75) work. The pedestrian bridges are located over I-75 in Detroit at Solvay Street, Beard Street, Waterman Street, Junction Street, and Lansing Street.

The two towers supporting the main cable-stayed span rise dramatically over the river. As the towers grow to their final height of 220 metres (722 feet), artwork produced by a partnership with Indigenous and Detroit-area artists is displayed on the panels of the temporary jump form systems, making them visible from land on both sides of the border and from the Detroit River.

Construction

The project broke ground on July 17, 2018, in Detroit for early works and held a construction start event on October 5, 2018, at the future Canadian port of entry. Financial close was reached on September 28, 2018.

Bridging North America, a partnership of Fluor, ACS Infrastructure Canada, and Aecon Group Inc., was the private-sector partner selected to design, build, finance, operate, and maintain the CAD$5.7 billion (approximate US$4.4 billion) Gordie Howe International Bridge project for the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA). Fluor, ACS Infrastructure Canada, and Aecon Group Inc. would operate and maintain the facility for 30 years to performance standards established by WDBA following completion.

Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA) is a not-for-profit Canadian Crown corporation created to manage the procurement process for the design, construction, financing, operation, and maintenance of the new Gordie Howe International Bridge between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, Michigan, through a public-private partnership (P3).

In December 2020, the first of three phases of construction to create the distinctive towers for the Gordie Howe International Bridge was completed with the underground foundational work of the tower legs. With a solid structural base, crews could begin building the tower legs above ground to their final height of 220 metres (722 feet), anticipated to be completed in 2023.

On June 14, 2024, a historic milestone was reached when the two halves of the bridge deck were finally joined over the Detroit River, with steelworkers from both nations sharing a handshake 150 feet above the water.

On February 18, 2015, Minister of Transport Lisa Raitt announced Canada would fund the construction of a customs plaza on the U.S. side of the bridge in Detroit's Delray neighborhood. The plaza would have a budget of around US$250 million, to be recouped through tolls.

The project earned significant recognition during the construction phase. In 2021, the project received the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI) Envision® Platinum Award for delivering exceptional improvements in the social, economic, and environmental conditions of the community. In November 2019, Bridging North America won gold for Project Financing in the 2019 National Awards for Innovation and Excellence in Public-Private Partnerships, an award presented by the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships at its 27th annual conference in Toronto.

Community Impact and Pedestrian Access

Located between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, Michigan, the Gordie Howe International Bridge and adjacent infrastructure will provide crossing redundancy, traffic capacity, expanded border processing, and highway-to-highway connectivity that will improve the efficient and secure movement of people and goods through this key gateway.

In March 2017, WDBA announced that the design requirements for the Gordie Howe International Bridge Project would include a dedicated multi-use path that will accommodate pedestrians and cyclists. This multi-use path will be the first non-special-event, legal pedestrian crossing of the Detroit River, connecting to local streets and trails on both of its sides. Bicycles and pedestrians will be allowed on the new bridge between Detroit and Windsor when it opens in 2026, and Canada will waive the bridge tolls for them.

The Southwest Detroit neighborhood, which borders the U.S. port of entry, was a focus of extensive community engagement throughout the project's planning and construction phases. In March and August 2019, WDBA opened the doors to two new community offices, providing venues for members of the community and other stakeholders to meet with the Gordie Howe International Bridge project team, ask questions, view plans, and gather project-related information.

On November 27, 2020, the project team unveiled murals produced in partnership with artists from Walpole Island First Nation, Caldwell First Nation, and Southwest Detroit, representing rich and diverse cultures displayed on the panels of the jump form systems.

The Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority acknowledges that the land where the Gordie Howe International Bridge project is being constructed sits on Anishinaabe Territory. The Anishinaabeg in the Windsor area are known as the Three Fires Confederacy, which consists of the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi Nations.

The Windsor–Detroit corridor handles billions of dollars in daily trade, with the automotive industry particularly dependent on smooth cross-border supply chains. A single day of delays can halt car production on both sides of the border. Unlike the existing Ambassador Bridge, which opened in 1929 and connects to city streets with traffic lights on the Canadian side, the Gordie Howe International Bridge will provide uninterrupted highway flow.

Political Controversy

In February 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to not allow the bridge to open until the United States was compensated for what he claimed was unfair treatment by the Canadian government. One of his allegations was that the project used only Canadian steel, which was refuted by Canadian officials, including Prime Minister Mark Carney.

The controversy drew significant attention to the bridge in the context of broader U.S.–Canada trade tensions in early 2026. The bridge had long been viewed as a symbol of binational cooperation, and political threats to delay or block its opening struck many observers on both sides of the border as counter to the economic interests of both nations. People were noted to love the look of the bridge at night and how it is changing the skyline between Detroit and Windsor, Canada, with residents and businesses looking forward to more predictability when crossing the border.

The Gordie Howe International Bridge is set to open in early 2026, creating a way to walk, bike, or drive into Canada from Detroit.