The Gordie Howe International Bridge — 20 years in the making — is set to open in early 2026, providing the first new link between the United States and Canada in many years. Once the bridge is finished, it will become the only bridge from Michigan to Canada that allows for foot and bike traffic. The bridge will have the longest steel and concrete composite deck of any cable-stayed bridge in the world, with six lanes — three in each direction — for vehicular traffic. The added bridge is expected to alleviate slowdowns on the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel and the Ambassador Bridge, which has four lanes of traffic. The bridge will connect directly from I-75 to the Ontario highway system, known as Highway 401, without traffic having to stop at traffic lights along the way. In the case of backups, cars will be contained within the port of entry to avoid congestion on I-75 and trucks will also be required to turn their engines off during inspection to reduce noise and air pollution. The roughly $4.4 billion bridge was financed by Canada, which will reap the toll revenue, while providing the maintenance for the next 36 years. The bridge won’t only connect Detroit and Windsor, I-75 and its Canadian equivalent, and the United States and Canada, but also two hockey-loving nations.
